Gail Tansill Lambert

1938 - 2021

Gail Tansill Lambert

May 10, 1938 - July 2, 2021

Gail Tansill Lambert, 83, of Roanoke, Virginia, died on Friday, July 2, 2021.

She was born on May 10, 1938, the daughter of Albert and Mary Tansill in New York City, N.Y. The family moved to Atlanta, Georgia during World War II. In Atlanta, Gail was an athlete at Northside High School, a member of championship swim, tennis, and basketball teams. She attended the University of Georgia where she met her future husband, Millard H. Lambert Jr. from Roanoke, Virginia. At Christmastime, 1958, they were married at the Cathedral of St. Philip's in Atlanta.

Gail and Millard became parents of four children, Millard III, Jennifer, Philip, and Alby and grandparents of Almarie, Peter, Virginia, Albert, Eleanor, Charlotte, and Philip. Her happiness centered on her family.

Gail loved the outdoors and spent two college summers teaching tennis at Camp Winnetaska in Holderness, N.H. She climbed the picturesque Mount Chocora and Moosilauke as well as Mount Washington in New Hampshire with Millard and son, Millard III; and also Mount Vesuvius in Pompeii, Italy. Her favorite mountain was always Stone Mountain in Atlanta, the largest granite outcropping in the world. Gail and Millard took their children to the beach and mountains on camping trips as well as to the New England coast.

She finished her undergraduate degree at Hollins College majoring in Latin and taught Latin at Montgomery County Public Schools and Community High School for Arts & Academics in downtown Roanoke. She earned master's degrees in Liberal Arts Studies and Children's Literature, enjoying the proximity of Hollins, especially revered for writers.

She was a member of the Col. William Preston Chapter of the DAR as she completed her historical fiction novel, "Orie's Story," based on the life of the 19th century Orianna Moon Andrews, M.D. of Albemarle County, and published in 2017. She was a travel writer for Senior News and City Magazine, and her work appeared occasionally in The Roanoker, Prime Living, and The Roanoke Times, as well as magazines in California and Ireland. Her latest book was, "The Life of Robert Tansill," a United States Marine from Virginia who resigned his commission because he would not bear arms against his native state and served as a Colonel in the CSA.

Gail was PTA President at Wasena School and awarded a Life Membership for her years of service. She belonged to the National League of American Pen Women for several years. Above all, she was an active member of St. John's Episcopal Church for most of her life.

She loved Virginia, Georgia, and the South as a background of welcome for her beloved husband and their family.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, July 8, 2021, at St. John's Episcopal Church of Roanoke, 1 Mountain Ave., S.W., Roanoke, VA 24016. Her family will have a private burial service at the family cemetery in West Virginia at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, please make memorials to St. John's Episcopal Church in Roanoke. Online condolences may be shared with the family at www.oakeys.com.