Obituary published on Legacy.com by Foothills Cremation and Funeral Service - Golden on Oct. 16, 2025.
Joanne (Pollarine) Lambert went to meet her Lord and Savior on Saturday, October 11th, 2025. The second of six children, Joanne was born in Cleveland, Ohio at Fairview Park Hospital on October 23rd, 1949 to Joseph Pollarine and Jennie (Pavia) Pollarine. She met Bruce Lambert when they were sophomores in high school. They were married on July 10th, 1971 after she graduated with a degree in Speech and Hearing Therapy from Kent State University. They had a short stint of living in Topeka, Kansas, while Bruce finished his military service. Prior to the birth of their daughter, Megan, in 1977 and son, Todd, in 1979 they made their home in Columbus, Ohio until 1980 when they moved to Arvada, Colorado.
Joanne had a satisfying, although varied work life. She was a Speech and Hearing Therapist until the birth of her children then stayed at home to care for Megan and Todd. During this time she helped support the family through cleaning houses. After Megan entered college, she returned to working outside of the home at Colorado Christian University in the mailroom and as the receptionist. She later worked through the Masters of Arts in Counseling program at the university and moved into The Academic Support and Testing Center where she helped students navigate college academics, especially those with learning needs. Working with both student learners and tutors gave her great joy and fulfillment. After her time at CCU, she moved on to work in the Admissions Department of the Colorado School of Mines until her retirement. Again, people were her passion and she developed many strong relationships with students and co-workers through her time at Mines.
One of her greatest joys was spending time with her grandchildren. Todd's daughters, Elloria and Makylee, relished many visits with Grammy. She also attended many activities that Megan and her husband Daniel's two children, Nathan and Naomi were involved in. She was able to meet her great-grandson, Easton, and enjoy some snuggles and lots of smiles from him. Her grandbabies were her true delight and she involved herself in their lives in all the ways she found possible.
Joanne involved herself in many faith communities throughout the years. The Lamberts attended Bear Creek Presbyterian Church in Lakewood after moving to Colorado where Joanne and Bruce both committed their lives to Christ. Not long after, they began attending Northwest Evangelical Free Church where the family made life-long friendships. Joanne was a long-time participant in Bible Study Fellowship and volunteered as a leader in both the adult and children's programs. She later took part in Community Bible Study and continued her pursuit of learning more about God's Word. After Bruce's death in 2018, Joanne joined Megan and Daniel in attending Hillside Community Church and became a member there. Her attendance at Hillside gave her the chance to become involved in the weekly Women's Bible Study as well as Stephen Ministries. In both groups she found a way to use her knowledge and gifting in studying God's Word as well as her ability to truly listen to, hear and give Godly and wise counsel to others.
Joanne's faith, commitment to her family and passion for others was a testament to everyone around her. She is survived by her daughter Megan (Daniel) and son Todd; grandchildren Elloria, Makylee (Masen), Nathan and Naomi; great-grandson Easton; siblings Annette, Maryjo (James) and Joseph (Donna); in-laws Kathy (Jay), Bill (Marty), and Carole (Don); and many wonderful nephews and nieces. She was preceded in death by her parents Joseph and Jennie Pollarine and her brothers John (Judy) and Thomas.
Her Celebration of Life Service will be held at Hillside Community Church, 103 North Ford Street,
Golden, CO 80403, on Saturday, November 8th at 11:00 in the morning with a luncheon reception to follow in the church coffee shop. The service will be live cast on YouTube. Access will be available at http://www.hillsidecommunity.org on November 8th.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Hillside Community Church https://hc3.breezechms.com/give/online?fund_id=2095692