Family members, friends and colleagues who turned out yesterday to celebrate the life of Doreen Lambert, who was chief archivist at the National Archives in St Catherine, remembered her as a woman of strength, a loving mother and a distinguished Jamaican who touched many lives during her brief sojourn on earth.

During the relatively short funeral service to mark her passing at the Tarrant Baptist Church on Molynes Road in Kingston, close friend and co-worker Racquel Strachan said Lambert would be missed for her guidance and advice to younger co-workers.

“As we reflect on her life, we can attest to a life well-spent. Doreen Lambert will be remembered for the guidance, her simple words of encouragement no matter the situation. She would always end with the wise words ‘A word to the wise is sufficient’,” Strachan told the congregation.

“How can we say good-bye to such a mentor and friend. We have the assurance that we will see her again. So long, Miss Lambert, it’s time for you to rest as you have touched so many lives during your lifetime.”

Lambert, affectionately called ‘Madgie’, died at the age of 52 on January 30 of a complicated illness. She was born and grew up in St Mary, before migrating to Kingston to pursue tertiary education after which she worked at several organisations – including the Observer, where she served as librarian in the newspaper’s early days.

During the eulogy, family friend Esther Taylor, in summing up Lambert’s life, said: “The measure of a life is not in its duration but in its donation.”

She added that Lambert’s family members, including her sole daughter Moesha, will remember her commitment to family life.

“Her relatives and siblings will remember her as the binding link in the family and for her resourcefulness. Her co-workers will remember her for her expertise with which she was better able to help those with whom she worked,” Taylor said.

“She was humble, never easily flustered, always had a ready smile and was very appreciative of her culture. She was a woman of strength and courage. She was a motivator, a go-getter and an entrepreneur. She was not flamboyant; she was always reserved,” Taylor said.

Taylor added that among Lambert’s many accolades were awards from the Library and Information Association of Jamaica (LIAJ) and other local bodies.

Pastor Neville Callam, in his homily, lauded Lambert for her service to the church, where she served as a Sunday School teacher and member of several committees.

“She knew how to love God and others and when we love the Lord, our lives take on a new meaning,” Callam said to nods of agreement from several members of the congregation.

Other highlights of the brief service were a musical presentation by students from the Castleton Primary and Junior High and a robust offering of the timeless spiritual Give Me Jesus by the Tarrant Baptist Church choir.