Gustave William Lambeck also known as “Gus”, 82, of Great Mills, MD, passed away peacefully at his home on Thursday, August 26, 2021. He was born on March 17, 1939, in Philadelphia, PA, to the late Dorothy Anna and Gustave Lambeck. He graduated from North East High School in Philadelphia, PA in 1956. Gus married Carol Marie (Hutt) Lambeck on April 30, 1960 at the Nativity Lutheran Church in Philadelphia, PA and were blessed with two children, Michael Frederick Lambeck and Debra Lambeck Somerville. Together Gus and Carol shared 61 wonderful years of marriage.
In 1956 he joined the United States Navy Reserves. A year later he enlisted as Active Duty. He was also associated with the VP Navy since 1962 when he received orders off the USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63) to VP-9 which had P2V-7 aircraft. At that time is which he than was apart of the transition into P-3A’s in 1964. From that point on he was an avid supporter of the VP Navy vice the haze gray and Underway Navy. In 1966 he became a member of Project ANEW crew at the Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River, Maryland. Where he was apart of the testing and development on the specifications for the P-3C aircraft platform. He flew a many hours on 148883 which is now parked on the Naval Air Station Patuxent River. This than lead to the testing of the very first P-3C aircraft built for the U.S Navy. Since those times that he than after work with the P-3C Platform up until his retirement date. One of the saddest part of his career was in 1964 with VP-9 when his flight crew was involved in an aircraft accident. One of the highlights was setting a World’s Turboprop Distance Record on the P-3C Orion (156512) from Atsugi, Japan to Patuxent River, Maryland in 1971. Obtaining an altitude of 49,000 plus feet. This was both an altitude and long distance world’s record for a heavy weight turboprop aircraft at that time. He proudly served until retirement as Master Chief on March 31, 1978 after 22 years of service. He had 50 plus years of being employed by the U.S Navy as a military service member, a civil servant and as a defense contractor. On January 7,2011 he officially entered retirement.
Gus loved being part of something larger than himself, contributing to many organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, Trinity Lutheran Church, Thrivent and Christmas in April, just to name a few. His favorite past times included spending hours on his computer creating a spreadsheet of some sort, playing with his train collection, and watching countless Hallmark movies. Gus had a heart of gold and a soft-spot for his family and he enjoyed making memories with them. Carol and Gus always looked forward to making trips back to Pennsylvania to visit family. He enjoyed looking at maps, calculating the average gas mileage, and the mile marker that was coming up next. His long time pet companion Champ was never too far and you could find him sitting in the back seat. Gus didn’t have a particular football team he rooted for it usually was any team that was playing against the Washington Redskins.
He was a father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. In addition to his beloved wife he is survived by his two children, Michael Lambeck (Nicole) of Great Mills, MD, and Debra Somerville (Jeffrey) of Chaptico; two grandchildren Brittany Lambeck (Sheron), Michael Lambeck; two adored great-granddaughters Mckenzie Runnels and Brynn Chase and one special Son-in-law Jeffrey Somerville who jokingly referred to Gus as the “old timer”. He also leaves behind his brothers Robert Lambeck (Phyllis) and Carl Lambeck (Sheila), his brother-in-law Albert Wegler; his sister, Dorothy Stevenson (Joe) and sister in law Barbara Stauffer. He was preceded in death by his parents, Dorothy and Gustave Lambeck, his brother William Lambeck, and sister-in-law Mildred Cronrath (Walt) whom he shared a special bond with and a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.
The family will receive friends on Thursday, September 2, 2021 from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., with a Funeral Service celebrated by Pastor Matthew Borrasso at 11:00 a.m., all at Trinity Lutheran Church, 46707 S. Shangri-La Drive, Lexington Park, MD 20653. Interment will be at a later date at Arlington National Cemetery.
Condolences to the family may be made at www.brinsfieldfuneral.com.
Arrangements by the Brinsfield Funeral Home, P.A.
