Richard E. “Dick” Lamb, age 86, of Shelby, died Thursday night, December 26, 2024 at OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital. His death follows an extended illness.
Dick was born July 6, 1938 in Cleveland to the late Torrence Kinsman and Florence Arlene (Drushel) Lamb. In the 1950s he was proud to be the Cleveland Yo-Yo Champion having been able to perform on TV. Starting on the day his dad bought his hardware store, Dick was 15 years old and worked side by side with his dad whenever he was not in school. He attended and graduated from Fairview High School where he lettered in football and ran low hurdles in track.
Directly following high school, Dick joined the United States Naval Reserves, a six-year program, and also worked at Bingham Wholesale Hardware Co in Cleveland. He went on to attend Bowling Green State University for two years, married the former Marilyn Smith in 1961 and started a family, and then finished his last two years at BGSU. He graduated in June of 1964 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration- his eldest son, Jim, born in April of that same year, attended the graduation.
Dick went to work with Packaging Corporation of America in Rittman and Mentor, OH for seven years and then a year at Card Pack, Inc. in Cleveland. It was consulting work for Carton Service, Inc. establishing their personnel department which brought Dick’s career to Shelby. He was hired in December of 1981 and remained there until 2007- 26 years of total service. While at Carton Service, Dick was Personnel Director, established a Quality Assurance Department and program, restructured the Production Control Department, and managed the operations for many years as the Director of Production. His final years at Carton Service were spent helping develop the SAP Warehouse Integrated Module. In total, Dick was in the packaging industry for 43 years.
Active in a variety of volunteer programs throughout his life, Dick had been a Boy Scout Pack Cub Master and served as a district committeeman, had coached soccer at the Mansfield Liederkranz for boys under the age of 16, and volunteered for the Salvation Army for many years. Additionally, Dick served on the Shelby Help Line Ministry advisory board where he had been the vice president and was on the finance committee. A longtime member of the Shelby First Church of God (now Awake Church) Dick also served as the finance ministry leader for five years.
Dick is survived by his children: James (Marquita) Lamb of Maryland, Deborah (Tim) Newmeyer of Shelby, Thomas (Amanda) Lamb of South Carolina, and Robert (Stacy) Lamb of Shelby; grandchildren: Danica Bellita, Lee (Morgan) Newmeyer, Konnar Lamb, Reilly Lamb, and Alex Lamb; sisters-in-law: Suzanne Lamb and Sandra Schneider; and nieces, nephews, other relatives, and friends. In addition to his parents, Dick was preceded in death by his brothers: Terry Lamb and Bill Lamb; and his longtime companion: Darlene Rickens.
Family and friends are welcome on Thursday, January 2, 2025 from 4-7 pm at the Penwell Funeral Home, 168 West Main Street, Shelby. Funeral services will be on Friday, January 3, 2025 at Awake Church, 3616 State Route 39, Shelby. Pastor Rita Bullock and George Johnson will officiate the services with burial following in Oakland Cemetery, Shelby. Memorial contributions may be made to Awake Church or Shelby Help Line Ministries (ShelbyHelpLine.org).
Condolences may be left on Dick’s obituary on the funeral home’s website (PenwellFuneralHome.com) or their Facebook page (Facebook.com/PenwellFuneralHome).
Funeral Home: Penwell Funeral Home
Website: PenwellFuneralHome.com