Howard Orian Lamb Sr., 83, Leonardtown

Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2008

He was born Dec. 16, 1924, in Arcadia, Fla., and was raised in Ft. Myers, Fla.

He married Lena M. Mace in 1942.

He was interested in flying as a youth and took lessons at Page Field in Ft. Myers until the outbreak of World War II, when he enlisted in the Navy. He served in various training commands as an instructor until the end of the war when he decided to stay in the Navy and served as a plane captain on the P2V Neptune anti-submarine aircraft, most notably in VP23 Squadron in Brunswick, Maine.

One of his many duty stations included a stint in dirigibles in Weeksville, N.C., the last Navy lighter-than-air facility that closed in 1957. He was a fine carpenter and a great cook, fixing everything from bouillabaisse — which he learned how to make while stationed in French Morocco in the late 1940s — to fish and pork roasts.

He was a member of Lexington Park Baptist Church, which he and his family joined in 1958. He was stationed at Patuxent River Naval Air Station in 1958 and was assigned to Webster Field in St. Inigoes, where he became leading chief. He retired from the Navy as chief petty officer in 1961.

He and his wife traveled extensively, both during his Navy career and their retirement. During their travels, they always found a body of water to cast a line and enjoy their life-long hobby of fishing.

He and his wife started The Tackle Box in Lexington Park in 1960. The retail establishment grew from a tiny segment of a building on Route 235 across from Pax River into its own building that continues providing fishing tackle and shooting supplies nearly 50 years later. Both of his sons have worked in the business through the years along with hundreds of faithful employees and their wives and children.

He is survived by his wife, Lena, of Leonardtown; sons, Howard O. Lamb Jr. of St. Inigoes and his wife Sandy, and Kenneth R. Lamb of Lexington Park and his wife Linda; brothers, Jean Lamb of Tampa, Fla., and Richard Lamb of California, Md.; grandchildren, Irene Lamb Sembello of Blacksburg, Va., Sara Cooper of St. Inigoes, Melissa Speed of Golden, Colo., Audrey Lamb Camblin of Lawrence, Kan., and Chris Lamb, of Austin, Texas; and 11 great-grandchildren.

Family will receive friends on Thursday, Aug. 28, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Mattingley-Gardiner Funeral Home in Leonardtown.

Memorial service will be held at 7 p.m.

Interment will be private.

Memorial contributions can be made to the Lexington Park Volunteer Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 339, Lexington Park, MD 20653.