Kit Lambert

Kit Lambert, 97, of Ithaca, NY, died on July 5, 2020 at Cayuga Medical Center, Ithaca, while surrounded by her family. Kit was born in 1923 in Binghamton, NY. She is survived by her children, Victoria Boynton, Rebecca Norton, Ben Boynton Jr., and Elizabeth Thomas; four step children, John Lambert, Jim Lambert, Steve Lambert, and Sue Ault; and many grandchildren and great grandchildren. Blessed with a zest for life, a sense of humor, and a sparkling energy, Kit loved a good conversation, a fast drive in one of her many convertibles, a dry martini, and a cut-throat ping pong game.

Her lively curiosity and adventurous spirit led her to accept employment with Aramco in Saudi Arabia as a young woman, to adopt Cornell international students into our family, to live for a year in Switzerland with her children, to ski in the Rockies and the Alps, to winter in Australia, and vacation in the Caribbean. She was a horseback rider, an avid Master Gardener, an excellent chef and entertainer, and a joyful dancer. She liked Delbert McClinton enough to take two of her grandsons on a Delbert McClinton cruise to serve as dance partners.  At her 90th birthday party, she danced every dance and sang “Young at Heart” with the band.

In the 1960s, Kit broke her leg skiing and—bored—invited some lively friends to talk; they launched Summer Ithaca, the beginnings of the Ithaca Festival and the Hangar Theater. She had a career in real estate and was the first woman appraiser in Tompkins County.

Kit and her first husband, Ben Boynton, father of her four children, moved to Ithaca in 1952. After their marriage ended, she and her excellent friend, Brud Dolph, spent time together with both sets of children. She married Jock Lambert in 1973 and enjoyed his company until his death in 2004. She moved to Kendal at Ithaca in her late 80s and has been a vibrant member of that community, as she has been everywhere she’s landed. She loved and was loved by her children, step-children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and many friends.

She will be interred at Greensprings Natural Cemetery Preserve in Newfield, NY.  Her children plan to have a memorial gathering after the pandemic. If you would like make a contribution in Kit’s memory, please consider Friends of Stewart Park, 120 Brindley Street, Suite 4, Ithaca, NY 14850, or online at https://www.friendsofstewartpark.org/getinvolved.