Every day is a gift, the quality of your life is your gift to yourself
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There are so many memories, so many stories to share about Sam Lamb (1927-2022).
Sam’s second wife Mary Anne Van Geertruyde nodded, “so much to share,” saying Sam was a complete community-minded, family man.
“He was a family, community and church man. He just loved and cared for everything and he would do whatever he could for anybody, for any cause, or for any organization that was up-and-up. He was involved with so much, not only in the town but also out of town.”
First elected to Tillsonburg Council in 1992, Sam the People’s Man continued as councillor for nearly 20 years.
“When he was on Council, and Long Point Region Conservation, he just loved that,” said Mary Anne. “He really enjoyed that.”
Sam, who passed away last week at the age of 95, also belonged to more than one organization involved with Camp Trillium, she noted, and he was a strong supporter of the childhood cancer camp.
“That was very dear in our hearts, very important over the years.
“He loved his family – anything and everything, whether it was sports or high school events, whatever the grandchildren and great grandchildren were involved in, he was there.”
With 16 grandchildren and 22 great grandchildren, there were often scheduling conflicts, but Sam worked out a rotation.
“They always knew when we came, when Papa came, they were just always looking for him in the stands. They knew he would get to one of their games eventually and they anticipated it so much.”
Baseball was one of his lifetime passions and the Town of Tillsonburg recognized his achievements in 2011 naming the town’s two hardball diamonds Sam Lamb Field.
“He was a competitive man, very competitive, but very sportsmanlike. If we (Tillsonburg) won or lost, we still congratulated each other,” said Mary Anne.
At the age of 20 he was a young starting pitcher for the Tillsonburg Pan-Drieds, and more than five decades later he was still pitching an inning here and there for the competitive Old Sox.
“He loved baseball,” Mary Anne nodded.
He is member of multiple halls (and walls) of fame, local, provincial and national – and his name, and his Tillsonburg teams, were known in baseball circles from coast to coast.
“It wasn’t only in Ontario, it was Canada-wide and it was international. We went to a few tournaments in Florida (1988-90) and he would play competitively. And he went with other teams from Ontario as an assistant coach, so we got around,” said Mary Anne.
“He accepted anyone and he was ahead of social standards of society. Baseball was the tool he used to break social barriers when he invited teams from Detroit to play in Tillsonburg for oldtimer tournaments. Detroit teams reciprocated by inviting our Old Sox team to play there too.”
Maybe even more special was the fact that both Sam and Mary Anne were invited to the Detroit team’s player award ceremonies and social events “during very racial and disturbing times.”
“This is very relevant to who Sam was,” said Mary Anne. “The respect these teams gave us was immense and unbelievable.”
The annual Red Sox/Old Sox baseball tournaments were among the best in the province, organized by Sam and a local team of dedicated volunteers.
“Well orchestrated, well organized and Sam did not leave out a detail. He was on top of everything. He knew what had to be done, what needed to be done. He carried so much… it was just amazing. Energy, energy, energy. He loved it.
“It was just phenomenal, he did anything and everything he could. And people recognized him from all over.”
That recognition was driven home when he was awarded the 2013 Tillsonburg Citizen of the Year Award. After the ceremony, former baseball teammate (and sometimes rival) Steve Kyle (1943-2014) said, “What better honour can you have than having your own peers recognize you for what you’ve done?”
“We are so proud of ‘Papa Sam’, as we call him,” said grandson Tyler Lamb at 2013 ceremony, “and it’s not just family members that call him that, there’s a lot of people in the community that call him Papa Sam. He’s done so much for sports in the community – he’s been very involved in developing the sport of baseball in Tillsonburg and is continuing that.”
“I am very blessed, as you have touched my life and I am truly grateful for this honour bestowed upon me,” said Sam in 2013, holding back tears. “It is a true privilege and distinct honour to accept this recognition as Citizen of the Year. One last word I wish to leave with you – is to remember that every day is a gift and the quality of your life is your gift to yourself.”
As a member of St. Paul’s United Church (AOTS), the IOOF Lodge, Royal Canadian Legion, and Town Council, Mary Anne said Sam always represented Tillsonburg well.
“It was wonderful to be with him because he was a very proud man, but also humble. He would not flaunt his accomplishments. He wanted to be that gentle person, he never overstepped his pride.”
When there was a cause he believed in – and one comes to mind from the early 90s – he stood up and battled.
“He stood up when he had a cause to fight for,” Mary Anne nodded. “He was very well versed in any issue the Town was involved in. He was always on top of his game.”
“In the last few days I’ve been carrying around his little screwdrivers that he gave out as promotional material during some of his campaigns,” said Tillsonburg Mayor Stephen Molnar, proud owner of a baseball given to him by Sam after the Old Sox won a national baseball championship.
“In his coaching I would suggest he was more of a teacher,” said Molnar, “and maybe that’s the greatest influence that a person can have – in any capacity. They are open to listening, which as a councillor he was excellent at, and bringing discussion to the table.”
Molnar said he did not know Sam well when he started his first term with ‘the People’s Man’, but it did not take long to know that “when Sam spoke, you listened.”
Sam made “immense contributions to the Town,” said Molnar, and that legacy will continue.
“He has been recognized for his athletics, his coaching, his contributions to municipal government, but he was a family man who’s love for his family, I think, was most important of all. That’s his legacy, from a personal perspective, and you see it in the children, the grandchildren, and now in the great grandchildren. The Lamb and the Partlo families absolutely continue to contribute to the lifeblood of this community.”
Flying flags at half-mast in Tillsonburg was a “small tribute to a giant of a man,” said Molnar. “He was more than a community leader, he was a community builder.”
Visitation for Sam Lamb (1927-2022) was scheduled Tuesday 1-4 and 6-9 p.m. at Ostrander’s Funeral Home in Tillsonburg. Wednesday’s funeral service will be livestreamed on St. Paul’s United Church YouTube channel.
– with files from Kristine Jean
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