Gregory Dennis Lamberth

Greg Lamberth

Gregory Dennis Lamberth (GDL) was born 10 AUG 1950 in Baton Rouge, LA to Margaret Teresa Kohler and Scott M. Lamberth.  He died at home surrounded by family on 29 NOV 2024 of infective endocarditis at age 74.  His family moved frequently because of his dad’s service in the USMC, and he joked that the longest he lived anywhere before he was married was his college dorm room.  He was an Eagle Scout, and mastered the art of knot tying.  There is a knot for every need, and he knew them all.  He could even tie a one-handed bowline, if he ever found himself dangling off a cliff.

He graduated from Tustin (CA) Union High, in 1968, where he lettered in wrestling and football, and the United States Naval Academy in 1972 (11th company).  The 11th company Tigers became his brothers. He was commissioned as a 2nd LT in the United States Marine Corps.   His mother, father, and uncle also served in the Corps. He served as an artillery officer and a Naval Gunfire Support Officer, (which required 22 parachute jumps out of “perfectly good aircraft”).  He married Gretchen in 1977, and   in 1978 he joined BDM, a defense contracting company in Albuquerque and helped design and test weapons and communications systems for the Air Force, Army, and Navy.  He was very proud that many of those systems saved American soldiers’ lives after 9-11-2001.

 He received his MBA in Quantitative Analysis from the University of New Mexico Anderson School of Business & operated offices at Eglin Air Forse Base and at the Joint Interoperability Test Command (JITC) at Ft. Huachuca.   He also worked for Raytheon Missile systems, New-Tec, and ManTech EPG (Electronic Proving Ground) during his career. He loved his work and won several awards.  He was a past president of the local International Test and Evaluation Assoc. (ITEA) and Assoc. of Old Crows (a professional organization focused on electronic warfare and tactical information). These organizations worked to provide science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) scholarships to the local colleges.

Greg and Gretchen were members of St. Stephens Episcopal Church and he was the volunteer treasurer for many years, and he was a member & past president of the Board of Directors for Cochise Area Network of Therapeutic Equestrian Resources (CANTER).

 He was a great cook specializing in eggs, bacon, and meat on the grill - a talent he passed on to his two children.  He liked to read, hike, research and travel with family and friends, meet friends for meals, garden and learn about birds.  He was a self-proclaimed “font of useless information” and was a sought-after member of many winning trivia teams while traveling.  His strengths were in history, geography, sports, and science.  Family and friends have fond memories of all the trips he orchestrated near and far.  He loved to snorkel and taught his wife, children, cousins, friends, and his young grandson how to snorkel.  Greg was known for his sense of humor and his love of music.  He knew all the words and his singing was legendary.  He was very competitive and strategic, excelling at table-top war games and card games.  He taught his children and grandson how to play chess.  He followed college football, especially NAVY, and enjoyed watching all live sports.   He and Sarah had season tickets to University of AZ Lady Cats basketball.  His grandson Scott says “he was good at making memories, everything we did with him was a good memory.”

Greg was preceded in death by his mother Margaret and his step-mother Georgia D. He is survived by his father Scott, his wife Gretchen, daughter Sarah M. (Jennifer Havermann, her daughter Taylor and granddaughter Lilith), son Geoffrey D.  (Lindsay Barnes), precious grandson Scott, of AZ, and other family in TX, PA, CA, UT, NM, and UT.  “Grandad was the salt and life will be bland without him.”  He was always faithful to his family and friends, Semper Fidelis.  Greg will be interred at the Veteran’s Memorial Cemetery in Sierra Vista, AZ at 1100 21 FEB 2025 with a celebration of life to follow at St. Stephens Episcopal church, 2750 Cardinal Dr, Sierra Vista.   Please come to share stories and celebrate Greg’s life.

In Liew of flowers, donations in his honor can be made to the 501(c)(3) Class of 1972 Project Fund at: www.usna.com/give/1972

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