Stephanie Drummond Lambert passed away in the early hours of Saturday December 20, 2025. Her recent struggle with Alzheimer's Disease will not overshadow the memory of the humorous, intelligent, and artistic person her friends and family knew.

Stephanie was an avid reader, both as a teacher and a lifelong learner. She read both fiction and non-fiction books and took detailed notes about many of the books she read. She also enjoyed genealogy and traveled to remote libraries and graveyards to trace her family history. Stephanie enjoyed visiting new places, and in addition to extensive travel across North America, she was particularly fond of recounting her trips to Finland and Ireland.

Her creative mind led Stephanie to explore and excel at many forms of art, including calligraphy, painting, sculpture, paper marbling, Pysanky egg dying, scrapbooking, needlepoint, quilting, and woodcarving. Her artistic eye showed clearly in every craft she touched.

Born May 5, 1949, to Don and Barta Drummond in Carson City, Nevada, Stephanie was the youngest of four, joining Keith, Dawn, and Howard. Following Kieth’s death in a tragic accident the family moved to Missoula, Montana, where Stephanie lived for most of her life. Her father passed away in 1975, and her mother succumbed to Alzheimer’s Disease in 1984.

Stephanie married fellow University of Montana student Michael James Lambert in 1969. They moved to Helena in 1971 where they had two children: Sean and Erin. In 1978 the family returned to Missoula. Stephanie became (grandma) “Q” to Erin’s two children: Oliver in 1999 and Willa in 2009. She adored them and made them do chores. She also loved her nieces and nephews; especially Dawn’s daughter Lara Eckert, who she saw as a kindred spirit. Stephanie and Michael separated in 2006 and later divorced. Stephanie remained in the family home with her cats until 2022 when she moved to The Springs at Missoula.

Stephanie spent her career working as a middle school Language Arts teacher and librarian at DeSmet School near Missoula’s airport. Although her primary focus was English, she filled gaps and taught other classes over the years. She was passionate about helping kids, and saw the school grow from a small building with a Quonset hut gym and library shelves in the hall to a modern school. Her prodigious humor often featured a decidedly adolescent slant.

The Catholic Church was important to Stephanie throughout her life, especially the Base Community she joined at Holy Family, which provided several lifelong friendships. Stephanie worked to help the church spread love and lived to see the church become more welcoming to marginalized communities.

There will be a remembrance for Stephanie on May 28, 2026, at 2:00 PM in the Missoula Public Library. A second remembrance will be held in western Oregon in late July to ease travel for her west coast family and friends. Please contact Sean Lambert 425-445-6670 for additional information.