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Bernd Lambert Obituary
December 28, 1932-January 3, 2015: Bernd Lambert (1932-2015). Cornell University Professor Emeritus, respected colleague, beloved mentor, brother, uncle and friend, died Saturday, January 03, 2015 at his home. Born in Frankfurt, Germany, he lived in Sofia, Bulgaria until 1941 when he immigrated to the United States with his parents and sister. He grew up in San Francisco, California, and received his Bachelor's degree and PhD in anthropology from the University of California at Berkeley. After a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh, he was appointed to the faculty at Cornell University where he taught from 1964 until his retirement. He did his anthropological fieldwork in what were then the Gilbert and Ellice Islands (now Kiribati), and completed his dissertation "Rank and Ramage in the Northern Gilbert Islands" in 1963. In addition to his work on kinship and linguistics in Oceania/Micronesia, he published research on kinship in the Andes, and he taught the first courses on Native America in the Cornell Anthropology Department. He will be remembered for his kindness, humility, sense of humor, and voracious intellect. He is survived by his sister, Marion Lambert Brackett, of Oakland, California; his nephews, David Brackett of Montreal, QC, Joe Pachinko of Ching Mai, Thailand, Charles Brackett of Oakland, California, and his grand-niece and grand-nephew, Sophie Barg Brackett and Frederick Barg Brackett, of Montreal, QC. Charitable donations in Bernd's memory may be directed to Amnesty International, amnestyusa.org. Funeral services were held at Temple Beth-El on Thursday, January 08, 2015 at 1:30 p.m. with Rabbi Scott Glass officiating. Interment followed at the Lakeview Cemetery. Charitable donations in Bernd's memory may be directed to Amnesty International, amnestyusa.org. Inquiries may be made to [email protected]
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Memories and Condolences
for Bernd Lambert
Michael Lieber
January 3, 2025
He was the best of us.
Reita Timeon Ienraoi
February 12, 2024
I vividly remember Bernd Lambert sitting with my grandparents almost everyday on our 'buia' speaking fluently the Kiribati language (Northern Dialect of the Kiribati language) and laughing and at other times listening to the recording of the local music he recorded while on the island from previous visits. I remembered him explaining why he would sit on his one side as honouring his Jewish culture. My grandparents had a few collections of his belongings kept in a safe place as a remembrance of him. They even exchanged letters while He was back in the States.
Lambert became part of my memory now because He had walked through our villages, sat and associated with the locals, ate the local dishes, and loved the people of Makin Island. I knew he had plenty of photos of families (my family as well) taken back then and wondered if those treasures are kept somewhere safe.
Michael Lieber
January 3, 2023
We were together at Pitt. I was a grad student and Berndt a post-doc. I learned more about ramages from him than I cared to know. The only reason I listened to his thick descriptions was that he was so funny. Then I went to Micronesia and discovered that I needed to remember everything he told me, and especially to understand what made material funny. You can only love him, and we all did and still do.
Ralph Bolton
January 3, 2021
Bernd's legacy continues. I think of him often these days because I am working on the final touches on a book manuscript, a book for which he wrote the introductory chapter. Although not an Andean specialist, Bernd synthesized the information on Andean kinship and marriage, and his chapter is probably the most cited chapter in the book. The book was published in English in 1977 and in Spanish in 1980. The new, 40th anniversary edition is of the Spanish version which has long been unavailable. I know Bernd would be delighted to see this evidence of his continuing impact on Andean anthropology.
Lin Poyer
January 28, 2015
With affection and appreciation for the mentoring Berndt offered to younger (and older!) scholars and Islanders. He was a model of what teaching can and should be.
Ben Namakin
January 22, 2015
Prof. Lambert or 'Rambete' as referred to by the people of my islands Butaritari and Makin in Kiribati will be sadly missed. I can recall my visit to him in 2006 at his home in Ithaca when he opened his door and immediately switched tongues to my mother tongue. He lived with my grandparents when he first arrived on Makin Island in Kiribati. I was born in 1980 and the last time i saw him as a young boy was in 1988. In 2012, he visited Kiribati and told me he would be back again. During this visit, the people of Makin visited him again to correct their genealogy. In this visit, he also attended my grandmother's funeral. My family called him one of their own because of his knowledge in the Kiribati culture especially his ability in kinship. May he rest in peace. Tekeraoi te boraunako Rambete.
Jalenia Mead
January 14, 2015
To a most loving and sincere and caring man Bernd Lambert. You will be missed. Thank you for the memories.
Robert Kelly
January 13, 2015
I was an undergraduate at Cornell, 1974-78. After all these years I find I can't recall many of the classes I took there, but one I do recall was Dr. Lambert's theory course.
Smita Lahiri
January 10, 2015
Berndt was the director of graduate study in 1993, when my cohort of graduate students entered Cornell Anthropology. I always think of him with a combination of affection and chagrin in connection with one particular memory. One Friday evening potluck (circa 1998 or 1999), I was talking with Berndt and a handful of my fellow grad students over Viranjini's signature chicken in chutney. We were discussing the evidentiary status of fieldwork knowledge, and in quite concrete terms: many of us were writing our dissertations at the time. Berndt settled a point of debate by pronouncing that an ethnographer oughtn't to recount events or quote statements as fact unless he or she had personally witnessed or heard them. I still remember the awful sinking feeling I got at that moment. (I had just spent months upon months in the Philippines basically listening to people attributing words, acts, and intentions to each other!) Looking back, I see that Berndt probably didn't mean this too literally (or perhaps I've misremembered his words). Otherwise, hearsay and rumor would be disqualified from ever becoming data, and that doesn't sound like a position Berndt would take! In any case, those words of Berndt's have stayed with me. And they periodically pop into my head when I'm at the computer and I need an injunction to keep things real in some way or another. Dear Berndt. We can never, any of us, know the full effect we have on others in our world, can we?
John McCreery
January 10, 2015
No professor was ever a better friend to a graduate student returning from the field. When Ruth and I returned from Taiwan in 1971, he gave us his place for free for the summer while we were getting ourselves sorted out.
January 8, 2015
I think of him for his good conversation and good company.
Karen Jones Raybeck
January 8, 2015
Bernd was a friend from the beginning and stayed that way. We invited him to our parties, and then to our home many times over the years. Many beautiful adjectives describe this man in these remembrances, and I agree with them all. He was deeply multifaceted. / The '64's are well represented here; like me, they may have thought of him always as "ours". But clearly he "belonged" to so many others. / In my mind I see him sitting quietly in a loudly conversing group, his contribution beginning with a "So..." or a "Well...", a spot-on addition that might add humor or just blow us all away.
Bernd feted in 2003
David Holmberg
January 8, 2015
Bernd was one of the best teachers I had as an undergraduate at Cornell in the late 1960s. He was also my adviser in my senior year and got me through an honors thesis. He was what was then the Graduate Field Representative in Anthropology when I became a grad student and watched out for graduate students for over a decade with incredible dedication and generosity. He was always a regular at grad student parties in the 1970s and essentially subvented a grad student poker game by graciously loosing with regularity. As a colleague, he always engaged and he had an astonishing memory for facts (including both ethnographic detail and baseball stats)and lived anthropology. As I write this I realize Bernd has been a teacher and a colleague of mine now for some 48 years now. He was so much part of the life of anthropology at Cornell that his intellect and scholarship will be missed every time we get together.
Thomas Gregor
January 8, 2015
It saddens me terribly to learn of Bernd's passing! He was a wonderful and loyal colleague and friend, who I first came to know when I joined the department as a new assistant professor in 1968. Over the years we regularly lunched together, gossiped together and laughed together -- often over minor variations of the same jokes, all in his slightly Teutonic accent. He was very serious and self-demanding about his work, so much so that he was his worst critic. I recall especially the “Pop Pap”, the "population paper," which was incredibly meticulous and time consuming, but ultimately as good as it could be -- which is to say superb. But I learned to say “Hey Bernd, how is the Pop Pap” and he would say something like “reproducing slowly.”
Typically, he was utterly kind, gentle and non-confrontational, even in the face of conduct he deplored, such as the political activism that tore at the Department during the late 1960s and early 1970s. I most sincerely regret that Bernd and I, though always close, saw very little of each other in the many years since my own days at Cornell -- an occasional AAA meeting, a few emails exchanged, but no more. I only wish I had been more aware in recent years that our time together was limited. Good bye dear Bernd! You are missed.
Brooke Thomas
January 8, 2015
Brend was a true gentle-man: humble, caring, self reflective, smart and humorous. It is his smile and sparkling eyes when he talked that I will remember.
Brooke Thomas, UMass/Amherst Anthropology
Gretchen Herrmann
January 8, 2015
I had a course with Prof Lambert in Myth, Ritual and Symbolism in the late 1960s. He seemed at the time to be the quintessential "absent-minded professor," but he was always kind, approachable and caring to his students. He'll be missed.
Laura Johnson-Kelly
January 8, 2015
Bernd was always so kind and caring towards his students (and colleagues) at Cornell! He will be missed.
Jalenia Mead
January 8, 2015
RIP Bernd Lambert, you were a true friend although we considered you more of a family member. Over the last 21 years I have gotten to know you and you my family. We will all miss your terribly. May you rest in peace.
Jalenia Mead and family
steve sangren
January 8, 2015
I'll miss Bernd for his prodigious knowledge, love of learning for its own sake, and most of all for his humane regard for students, friends, and colleagues.
Robert Maxwell
January 7, 2015
Bernd was a fine teacher and a warm and generous man. He was on my steering committee and participated in my disseration defense exam in 1968. He won't soon be forgotten.
Neriko Doerr
January 7, 2015
Prof. Lambert was my first adviser at Cornell. He was always kind and encouraging. Hope he rests in peace.
January 7, 2015
you will be missed. you were a great friend to my daughter and her family. a great conversationist with my nephew. GO WITH GOD.
Daniel Segal
January 7, 2015
I recall his teaching, from when I was an undergraduate. There was a playful sense of humor that was never an add-on; it always helped us, his students, get to what we needed to learn.
Alison Minton
January 7, 2015
RIP Professor Lambert. When I think of Anthropology at Cornell I can't help but think of you. Always pleasant and smiling. I will never forget the kinship paper I wrote for your class about the brotherhood in a certain fraternity---the brothers stayed up all night and took turns helping me type it so I could turn it in on time.
Dieter Bartels
January 7, 2015
Ruhe in Frieden, Bernd!
Graham Johnson
January 7, 2015
Sometime in the mid sixties I met Berndt and learned about ramages. That information will always stick with me. I was not an anthropologist, although some of my best friends, and my wife, were. I talked tom Bernd about ships, and string, and sealing wax. He told me of his escape from the holocaust, very late in the day, via the Trans-Siberian and described to me how, as a boy, he had dangled is legs over the rear car of the train as it wended it way through the endless Taiga. I have a very vivid image of his smiling face looking over the endless landscape of trees. Why did he tell me this? Because of my association with China? Where did he get off the train? Did he go to Shanghai, the port of last resort? Who was the righteous gentile that helped? Was it in Latvia? Now I will perhaps never know. But I do have very fond memories of him. He will be missed.
Carol Greenhouse
January 7, 2015
My first encounter with Bernd was on a cold February morning back in 1977... As we made our way along the campus path to McGraw Hall through knee-high snow, he said casually, "It really doesn't snow much here." I knew right away that I was in the company of someone whose first thought was to make someone else comfortable. I will treasure my memories of Bernd -- his kindness and dedication to colleagues and students, and his sparkling, borderless ethnographic imagination.
Vilma Santiago-Irizarry
January 7, 2015
Bernd was a special presence in our community and a most cherished friend. His intelligence, profound knowledge, humor, collegiality, humanness, and downright kindness will be greatly missed by those of us who developed deep bonds with him. I can barely contemplate everyday life at McGraw without his wisdom.
Florence Cherry
January 7, 2015
Wednesday January 07,2015
Bernd was my first anthropology teacher. He had a great deal to do with my becoming an anthropology major. I will never forget the long conversations we had about his work and the work I was exploring.
Judy Rosenthal
January 7, 2015
Dear, dear, dearest Bernd... I met him in 1986 when at age 45 I began the graduate program, He immediately accepted to be on my committee, to be my mentor, my friend, the one who could hear me speak about fear, regret, wonder. I loved his soulfulness, his permanent sense of longing, his many depths. I surely fell a bit in love with him as I learned to be in love with anthropology the way he was. He will go on appearing in my dreams. Thank you, Bernd Lambert...
Susan Westbrook
January 7, 2015
I was a student of Prof Lambert. I also did his travel to Kiribati, which was an adventure in and of itself. He told me he could never be sure if flights would be a go once you got that far afield. Class of 76.
G.G. Weix
January 7, 2015
I will always remember Bernd for the delight he took in conversation in the hallways. I especially appreciated his candid comments on a draft grant proposal, because he was the only one to cite Tina Turner ("what's love got to do with it?"). A reading seminar on kinship with him in 1984 was a gem, because he assumed first year students had read everything he had, and so we tried to do so. I feel so fortunate to have known him at Cornell--he was kind, and funny, and erudite, and he remembered each student in their own way. He will be missed.
Jonathan Wolff
January 7, 2015
I will always remember Bernd and the cassowary...
An extraordinary teacher and warm, caring mentor, his is truly missed.
Arnie Schwartz
January 7, 2015
I have had many enjoyable conversations with Bernd over the years. He told me about his interests in
Kiribati and his trip there a few years ago. About 2 weeks ago we spoke about him moving yo Kendall and how he would have to downsize. How to get rid of his library was a problem for him. He enjoyed being a SF giant fan....he was a good guy!
Joel Savishinsky
January 7, 2015
Bernd and I came to Cornell the same year: 1964. He was just joining the faculty, and I was beginning my grad work in anthropology. So I have always thought of that whole phase of my life, and the career that followed, as intimately tied to Bernd. At Cornell, he was my professor, a mentor, a member of my committee and, in more ways than the word usually conveys, a friend. His learning was immense and exceeded only, perhaps, by his sense of humor and humility. When I returned to live in Ithaca later on, he and I would periodically run into one another, and share stories, memories, ideas, and books. For all his profound learning and curiosity, and his genuine concern for others, his trusting, almost naive soul sometimes made me think of a character out of Dostoevsky. My life was richer for having known him, and the world is a poorer place with his passing.
Bernd and Carrie Chu '64-65
Don Brown
January 6, 2015
As a freshly minted Phd, Bernd took his post at Cornell in 1964. With few if any exceptions, those of us who arrived as grads in the department that year got to know him better than any of the other faculty. After all, Bernd was just a matter of months away from being a grad himself and he was single. In the many marvelous grad get-togethers in College Town or out at the lake he was as certain a guest as any of us (I have photos to prove it). My impression is that he remained perpetually close to the grads.
Bernd was a wonderful conversationalist. He listened carefully and had extraordinary resources to respond with. His humane sense of humor is rightly legendary. He was very loath to speak unkindly of anyone, though he could offer gentle critiques. He once told me that incoming grads often show up with their intellectual commitments already fixed earlier in their education. It was clear that he included me. That did not prevent him, in the end, from chairing my PhD committee. No greater love hath a friend?
Meeting up with Bernd at AAA meetings, plus a couple trips back to Cornell, provided treasured contacts. My wife, the then Carrie Chu who entered grad studies at Cornell along with me, are now so grateful that we spoke to Bernd only a month ago. But we will miss him terribly. What a loss….
Carrie
January 6, 2015
I am really going to miss you Mr. Lambert, you were one of my favorites!
James-Henry Holland
January 6, 2015
I once designed and printed a Hallowe'en card, and I hand-delivered one to Bernd. The card was covered in old alchemic symbols, and as he received his card, he began, "Let's see… There's sulphur, aqua vitae, potash… and is that antimony?"
This springs to mind as an example of the breadth of his knowledge and his delight in details. I only ever had two courses with him, but he was always such a pleasure to talk with that I visited with him often.
Nancy Pollock
January 6, 2015
Berndt has left a great legacy by way of his work on Butaritari the most northerly of the atolls of Kiribati. I know of only one other researcher who has worked there, Betsy Sewell, one of our Social and Economic studies of Gilbert and Ellice team (1979)- but her work has not been published. She benefitted from Berndt's guidance and deep knowledge of the Unimane (Council of Elders) as it was changing in the early 1970s.
Berndt was so dedicated to his research that he returned to the mainland world with great reluctance. He was keen to learn more from Katharine Luomala, so as I listened in to the two of them comparing and contrasting notes throughout the afternoon and evening, I hoped to pick up links to Marshallese systems of knowledge. The two of them drew on similarities and differences between Butaritari, (Northern Gilberts) and Tabiteuea (Southern Gilberts) - a point of distinction that needs further consideration..
Just a few months ago (2014), Berndt contributed/emailed me some valuable insights that I have incorporated into my research on Frigate Birds on Nauru and the central Pacific. He had contacted me regarding some linguistic research on Kiribati in which he was involved.
Berndt's work on Butaritari remains a great legacy for studies of Oceanic societies at a time when they were recovering from World War II impacts, and when knowledge of atoll societies was very limited. He left part of his soul in Butaritari. Go well Berndt, and thank you for your contributions.
Nancy Pollock, Wellington, New Zealand
Charles Wolff
January 6, 2015
I first met Bernd 25 years ago as a Cornell grad student, and he quickly became a mentor. In short time he also became a friend and spent much time at the farm here in Podunk. Over the years our friendship deepened and although our contact was at times sporadic, the moments we spent together are treasures. He was always supportive and eager to be present at many of my life events, as I was at his. This past Christmas Eve Bernd joined my wife and I for a quiet, intimate dinner; he was cheery, upbeat, looking forward to his birthday just a few days away, and outlined his plans for the coming year. Of course, conversation was seasoned with just the right amount of anthropology and linguistics. As I drove him home we made plans for a dinner at one of his favorite restaurants (we all enjoy a good meal). I waited until I saw his front door close behind him, not knowing that I would never see him again. I can still see that door closing. Bernd was the type of scholar that just doesn't exist anymore. "The hardest part about retiring," he said on Christmas Eve, "is figuring our what I'm going to do with all of my books!"
Enrique Mayer
January 6, 2015
Bernd and John V were part of my life as a grad student, I was their TA in Intro courses. I will never forget what I learned. That and his introduction to Andean Systems of Kinship and Marriage which he generously wrote for our edited Bolton/Mayer book.
Beth Israel, San Francisco
January 6, 2015
Douglas Raybeck
January 6, 2015
Bernd was one of the kindest and most supportive of mentors, as well as endearingly clumsy. I have a story about Bernd: I had returned from my psychological anthropology dissertation research to discover that Art Wolf, the chair of my committee had left for Stanford. I was sitting in Bernd's office grousing about my fate when he said "Well, I'll have to do a lot of reading, but I could step in." That's the kind of mensch he was and I never forgot the kind offer.
Frederic Gleach
January 6, 2015
The loss of Bernd is huge, he was a dear friend and close colleague with whom I spent many good times. He was one of the few people who loved books as much as I do, and had perhaps an even larger library and read even more widely. Although Native North America was not his primary area, he trained himself well and kept up with that literature better than many specialists, and we often shared discussions on points old and new. He was one of the most generous colleagues I've ever known, and I miss him greatly.
Daniel Grillo
January 6, 2015
It was a pleasure studying under Professor Lambert. He was obviously in his element at the front of a classroom and I'll fondly remember his smile as he traded witty remarks with students.
Mike Lieber
January 6, 2015
Knowing him since we were together at Pitt, where he was a post doc and I was a grad student. He was hilarious, improvising anything from one-liners to full fledged shaggy dog story with a wit that was lightening fast. He thought quickly, but edited his thoughts like curing venison. His prose was clear and exacting, but his greatest talent was thinking on his feet in collaboration with colleagues and students. He became over time a model for collaborative discussion when most of us struggled to talk to each other. The easy flow of comparative discussion is his legacy to the Association for Social Anthropology in Oceania, an organization he helped found.
Ralph Bolton
January 5, 2015
It is with great sadness that I received the news of the death of Bernd
Lambert. He was a kind and gentle soul, always supportive and encouraging. He
was on my doctoral committee throughout my time at Cornell. He was a superb
mentor with a wry sense of humor. Having taken his course on kinship and
social organization, when Enrique Mayer and I arranged a symposium on
Andean kinship and marriage for the annual meeting of the American
Anthropological Association in Toronto in 1972, naturally we thought that Bernd would be
an excellent discussant on this topic. He had no background in Andean
cultures, but he was an expert on kinship. His discussion turned into the
introduction to a volume published in English and Spanish. He did a brilliant
job, and his analysis is widely cited even today, so many years later. Right
before I heard of his passing, I was planning to call Bernd to give him the
news that the Spanish edition from 1980 is being reprinted. It's a classic
in Peruvian studies. He'd have been pleased. In recent years he was a
generous supporter of our work in Peru through The Chijnaya Foundation. In
fact, he had sent in his 2014 donation only days before he passed away. He has
my deepest gratitude. He will be missed by so many of us whose lives he
touched. Q.E.P.D.
Lily Harmon-Gross
January 5, 2015
Professor Lambert was a wonderful, friendly face in the department from 2000-2004. I took three classes with him and then asked to do an independent study on Native American Healing Practices. His manner of eliciting my own knowledge and answering my questions only after doing more research himself was fantastic and still holds as the way I treat students. I, and many others, were lucky to have had the chance to learn from him.
Erick White
January 5, 2015
A kind heart. A generous spirit. An always curious mind. A bottomless bundle of wonderful stories from the field and of academia. Continually teaching me things about topics I thought I knew. Not an ounce of hubris in his bones. I can't recall ever seeing Bernd angry. But he almost always had a book in his hand. Or even a whole bag of them that he had just bought at the campus store.
They don't make many scholars like him anymore. God Bless you Bernd.
Jane Ferguson
January 5, 2015
I entered grad school too late to take a course of Bernd Lambert's, but spent a whole lot of time talking with him at department seminars, and at the potlucks. Such a smart, funny and interesting guy; he was always so kind and supportive. Sure we talked about anthropology, but myriad other topics. In a candid moment, he once told me that Tom Paxton's "The Last Thing On My Mind" was his favorite song. At a potluck, or maybe the department picnic, I played guitar and he and I sang it together. Some of you might've been there. Anyway, very sad to get this news today, but RIP Bernd Lambert. A great teacher, and cool person.
Carolyn McGory
January 5, 2015
I worked with Prof. Lambert as a support staff member and he was always very friendly and congenial person.
I am so sorry to hear of his passing.
Nerissa Russell
January 5, 2015
I mourn the loss of my treasured colleague, Bernd Lambert. One of the most intellectually generous people I have every known, and also one of the most learned, I have turned to him many a time to fill me in on a topic I needed to know more about. More importantly, he was a model for the kind of human being I aspire to be. He leaves a vast legacy of lives enriched, most of all in his many students.
Sofia Villenas
January 5, 2015
I am sad I did not get to know Dr. Lambert personally. I do know his accomplishments and impact on generations of students have been and will continue to be inspiring. May you rest in peace Dr. Lambert. My sincere condolences to his family and all who called him friend, mentor and colleague.
Bibi Ibrahim
January 5, 2015
Bernd was my mentor,teacher, supporter and guide in so many ways. I learnt much from his intelligent fascination with anthropology and am so appreciative of the warmth, grace, humility and kindness that he always bestowed on us. Your memory will always be fragrant. May your continuing journey be blessed with great peace and joy. With love and gratitude, Bibi
Frederic Gleach
January 5, 2015
I posted this on Facebook earlier, and share it here as well.
Anyone who knew Bernd Lambert doesn't need to be told how wonderful he was, and I doubt it's possible to convey to those who didn't know him. He was one of the very very few people I've ever known who loves books as much as I do, and might have an even larger library than I do, and read even more widely. He was always supremely supportive of students and junior colleagues, especially those who needed it most. He had an incredible breadth and depth of knowledge, and the only thing he enjoyed more than sharing that with others was learning new things from others. He experienced the Third Reich at first-hand as a boy. He did fieldwork in Kiribati, beginning when it took weeks on boats to get there and most recently just a couple of years ago. He started teaching courses on American Indians many years ago, even though it wasn't his area of training, because he thought it was important that such be offered by an anthropology department situated in the heart of Iroquois country -- and he did an excellent job of learning and teaching that material. He loved picking my brain and comparing notes on Native cultures and histories, and invited me to guest-lecture in his classes several times. He was shy, and prone to self-doubt, but one of the most caring and best friends one could ever have. He was proud of and devoted to his family, and loved San Francisco (and its sports teams).
I'm still having a hard time conceiving of a world without Bernd to share it with. And we owe him a dinner or two….
Charles Hastings
January 5, 2015
As an undergrad major with as yet only very limited knowledge or understanding of anthropology, I took one of Bernd's classes sometime around 1970. I remember feeling that much of it was over my head and having to struggle to stay afloat. I also remember his intense enthusiasm for each topic we covered. I had an office/lab in the basement of McGraw one year, working for Bob Ascher as Cornell's first undergrad archaeology assistant, and I saw Bernd almost daily, so often with that extraordinary twinkle in his eye. Along with Bernd and Bob, there were John Murra, Tom Lynch, Brooke Thomas, John Henderson, and several grad students I got to know and who went on to become prominent figures in their sub-fields. Such a grand place that was to become an anthropologist--especially an Andeanist--and Bernd was a very integral part of it all.
Jane Fajans
January 5, 2015
Bernd was a dear friend who remained committed to so many of the people who passed through his life. We will sorely miss him.
Kathryn Mann Horlick
January 5, 2015
Professor Lambert was my teacher in many excellent courses 1971-75. I am so sad to hear of his passing, but so glad I had the opportunity to be his student.
Reid Bramblett
January 5, 2015
A fondly-remembered professor. My condolences.
Rick Feinberg
January 5, 2015
Bernd was a wonderful colleague for a long time. I'll miss him.
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