Ira A. Lamb

Ira Lamb dies

Well-respected business and civic leader Ira A. Lamb of Lusk died early last week at the age of 81.

A lifetime resident of Niobrara County, Mr. Lamb was chairman of the board of directors at Lusk State Bank, a position he had held since 1970.

Mr. Lamb, during his lifetime, also had served on the Lusk Town Council, the school board and as chairman of the Niobrara County Hospital Board. He also served on various committees and boards throughout the community, was an avid Biblical scholar and had served on the Board of Directors of the Platte Valley Bible College.

One of the county's more respected business-civic leaders, Mr. Lamb and his wife, Neva, homesteaded a ranch in the Rawhide Buttes area in 1932 and continually expanded the ranch over the years through a lot of hard work and dedication.

Residents, civic, business and political leaders were saddened at the announcement of Mr. Lamb's death. Services were held Monday at the Peet Mortuary Chapel with more than 100 attending.

Gene Lenz, president of the Lusk State Bank, said the entire community will miss Mr. Lamb.

"Ira served as director and chairman of the board for the past 19 years in a very adamant fashion," Lenz said. "He had been chosen as chairman due to his conservative nature and, at the same time, because of his desire to improve and enrich the community in which the bank functions."

"Although Mr. Lamb was financially successful himself, he still had an intimate desire to help individuals and businesses who had not reached such a stage of success so long as the individual or business showed the integrity and management that would be necessary to provide success to that particular endeavor. Ira was like an anchor post - in the event that he had given you a commitment you could always depend on his support and loyalty to the end of that particular commitment."

For complete obituary, see page three.

Ira A. Lamb

Services for Ira A. Lamb, age 81, were held at 1:30 p.m. Monday in the Peet Mortuary Chapel in Lusk with Rev. Mark Lohr and Gerald Periot officiating. Burial followed in the Lusk Cemetery.

Mr. Lamb died Tuesday, March 28, 1989 in the Regional West Medical Center in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. He was born April 19, 1907, in Rock County, Nebraska, the son of E. D. and Harriot Lamb.

On May 18, 1929, he married Neva Keister, daughter of Walt and Nine Keister of Manville, Wyoming.

A lifetime resident of Niobrara County, Ira and Neva homesteaded in the Rawhide Buttes area in 1932 and have continuously expanded the ranch over the years.

Mr. Lamb has been involved in numerous business activities. They include the Jay Em Hardware and the Wyoming Gas Service which he and Joe Waggoner established in Jay Em and then moved to Lusk in 1945. At the time of his death Mr. Lamb was chairman of the Board of the Lusk State Bank.

A community minded person, Mr. Lamb served on the Lusk Town Council, the school board, and also served as chairman of the Niobrara County Hospital Board for 20 years during the period that the hospital was struggling for existence. He was very active in raising funds to build the present hospital.

Mr. Lamb served on various committees and boards throughout the community. He was President of the Wyoming L. P. Gas Association and served for a number of years on the board of the National L. P. Gas Association.

He was an avid biblical scholar and served on the Board of Directors of the Platte Valley Bible College. Mr. Lamb helped to establish the local Church of Christ and until his death was active in its leadership.

Mr. Lamb was preceded in death by his parents and four brothers, Ezra, Lyle, Aaron and Moylan.

Survivors include his wife Neva of Lusk; two daughters, Nina Denny of Sun Lakes, Arizona and Lana Merchen of Gordon, Nebraska; one brother, N. V. "Shorty" Lamb of Torrington, Wyoming; four sisters, Wilma Richardson of Woodburn, Oregon, Vernal Fosher of Lusk, Wyoming; Evona Holloway of Crescent City, California, and Neva Chipley of Mesa, Arizona; six grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

For those who wish, memorials to the Niobrara Senior Citizens' Home Health Care Program will be appreciated by the family.

Peet mortuary was in charge of arrangements.

Note: Although the obituary lists date of death as March 28, 1989, both the Lusk Cemetery Records and the Social Security Death Index list the date as March 29, 1989.

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