She was born Dec. 2, 1960 in Portland to Phillip C. and Marianne Brown.
Angella was the second of three children and was raised in Hermiston and Umatilla where she attended school and finally ending in Albany and graduated at West Albany High School. After working in Albany for a short time, Angella met and married her husband at the age of 19 and had three children, Tom, Dana and Joe. She was lucky enough to have seen much of the world in her travels around the world with her young family. Angella eventually settled in Umatilla and raised her children there and was the owner/operator of the Rest-A-Bit Motel where she was awarded twice the Business Woman of the Year Award. She was very active in the community and strived to make Umatilla a better placed to raise a family. She was very involved in the Umatilla Chamber of Commerce and was their Past President, Secretary, and Treasurer and sat on the Board of Directors for many years.
Angella was also passionate about the schooling system and was on the board of the Umatilla County Preschool and on the Umatilla School District Budget Committee. After many years, Angella sold the Rest-A-Bit Motel and took a couple of years off to travel with her children. In 1998, Angella along with her parents, purchased and managed the Desert River Inn Resort in Umatilla, which they managed until it was sold in 2013. She was active and very knowledgeable in the hospitality industry and very sought after for her expertise and recruited as the manager of the Best Western in Hermiston. She was a member of the Oregon Lodging Association, Oregon Restaurant Association, Hermiston Chamber of Commerce, Boardman Chamber of Commerce, Umatilla Transient Lodging Tax Committee, Lions Club International and Eastern Oregon Trade & Event Center Building Committee.
Angella’s greatest love was her children and spending time with them was important. She traveled to New Zealand whenever she could to spend time with her two eldest children who reside there. She had thousands of friends and acquaintances, but her closest friend was Pam Lincoln of Hermiston, as they met when they were 8 and continued to be there for each other throughout their lives and spent many hours together.
Angella is survived by her children, Thomas Lambert, Dana & Luc Ettema, all of Christchurch, New Zealand,and Joseph Lambert of Hermiston; her parents Phillip C. & Marianne Brown of Hermiston; her siblings, Mark & Jackie Brown of Nehalem, and Diana & John Woodward of Hermiston; her nieces and nephews, Tammy & Nick Nearring of Hermiston, Jacob & Tiffany Brown of Nehalem, Mick Woodward and Janay Woodward, both of Hermiston; and many great nieces and nephews.
Angella was preceded in death by her nephew that she adored, Ross W. Brown of Nehalem.
A celebration of life will be held at the Desert River Inn on Saturday, Aug. 22, 2015, from 4 to 8 p.m., and everyone is invited to help us celebrate the life of this incredible woman. Angella’s wishes were to be cremated and her ashes shall be with her children in New Zealand. Contributions would be appreciated to help fund the transfer of Angella to New Zealand and can be made to Angella Lambert at gofundme.com
