Bonnie N. Lambert

Bonnie Nell (Powell) Lambert, 85, passed away in the early morning hours of Wednesday, November 16, 2022, at home, surrounded by her adoring family, who will miss her every day.
Bonnie was born in 1937 at St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Baker, Oregon to Earl and Helen Powell.  Her family lived in Sumpter, OR, and in 1939 the family moved to Union, where Bonnie lived with 1 brother, Marvin, and 3 sisters, Beverly, Marilyn, and Margaret.  She and her sisters were known as “The Powell Girls”.  Bonnie went to school with the same 33 kids from grade school through high school. She graduated from Union High School in 1955 as Valedictorian of her class with a scholarship to Eastern Oregon University where she took pre-nursing.  She wanted to become a nurse after watching her dad battle cancer.
In 1956, 19-year-old Bonnie married the love of her life, Donald Leroy Lambert on Christmas Eve, after meeting at the local meat shop where Don worked.  They moved to Boise, ID because Boise Junior College (now Boise State University) allowed married women to attend.  During Bonnie’s last semester, she and Don were expecting their first child, Jamie, and Bonnie was terrified to tell her program director because she thought they would kick her out of the nursing program.  Thankfully she was about to graduate (June 1959) with her associate degree in nursing, so they let her finish.  She took her state boards for her RN license, had Jamie in July, and started her nursing career at downtown Boise St Luke’s. They had 2 more kids, Rhonda and Kathleen, the first and only girls of that generation.   
In 1971 Bonnie laid aside nursing and went into “Field to Freezer” with her husband at their shop called Lambert’s Mobile Butchering Service.  Don would drive throughout the Treasure Valley for families’ butchering needs, while Bonnie would run the shop where she learned to wrap meat, keep books, customer and employee management, etc.  She took a nursing refresher course in 1980 and worked part-time at Mercy Medical Center in Nampa and the meat shop.  In their spare time, Don and Bonnie did farming, raising beef cattle, hay, and grandchildren.
Over the past year, Bonnie lost 3 nephews, her last 2 living sisters, and her last brother-in-law.  These losses broke her heart, and her health had declined steadily ever since.  She wanted to be reunited with her family in heaven, especially her love Don.
Bonnie is preceded in death by her loving husband Donald Leroy Lambert, her parents Earl and Helen Powell, brother Marvin Powell, and 3 sisters Beverly Rachau, Marilyn Rachau, and Margaret Moss.  Bonnie leaves behind her 3 brokenhearted children and their spouses; Jamie (Beth) Lambert, Rhonda (Art) Sprague, Kathleen (Rylan) Wiedmeier, Son in Law Richard Aberasturi, and adopted son Jeff Cirka.  She will be greatly missed by her 6 grandchildren, Mandy (Adam) Hanby, Sarah (Chris) Lammey, Paul Sprague, Meleah (Joshua) Sparhawk, Seth (Amber) Aberasturi, and Kristen Aberasturi, and many amazing great-grandchildren who love their G.G. dearly.  Don and Bonnie were always taking people in who quickly became family, and Bonnie always tried to keep in touch with her extended family as much as possible.