Grady Lamb, local businessman and Pioneer Citizen, died Thursday at the age of 89.
Lamb and his wife Kathleen, who died in June of this year, served four generations of customers at the IGA Foodliner in Siloam Springs before selling the store to Harps Food Stores in 2009. He is remembered by his friends and customers for making each person feel special.
Lamb's obituary will be published in the Wednesday, Aug. 28, issue of the Herald-Leader. A celebration of life service for Lamb will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, Aug. 28, at First Presbyterian Church in Siloam Springs. Visitation will be 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the church.
Lamb began his career in the grocery business in 1941 working as a butcher at Millsap's IGA Grocery. He met his wife Kathleen, a fellow employee who worked as a bookkeeper, at the store.
Lamb left the grocery store to serve a tour of duty in the South Pacific with the United States navy during World War II, according to a 2009 story in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, featuring Lamb. While Lamb was still serving in 1945, the couple married. They returned to Siloam Springs in 1946 to pick up where they left off, only this time they were partial owners of the store, the article states.
Over the years the grocery store made several moves and in 1966, the Lambs gained full ownership. The couple also had two sons, Alan and Brian Lamb.
"You know how you always hear preachers say they were called to do something," the article quoted Lamb as saying. "It's the same thing for me, only my place is in the grocery store. For all these years, I'd hate to have woken up any morning and known I couldn't come in. This is my life. I've always worked hard, served the best I can and never looked back. That's what I hope I pass on to these employees."
"He was a very special friend of everybody," said Bambi Lawlis, who grew up across the street from the Lamb family. "I felt he was my special friend. Probably everybody in town feels that way."
In 1998, the Chamber of Commerce honored Lamb as a Pioneer Citizen, alongside Barbara Akins. The January 1998 Herald-Leader article about the award states that Lamb was recognized for his service to the Navy, the Chamber of Commerce board of directors, the Boy Scout Council and 47 years (at that time) as church elder. He was also awarded for starting an annual golf tournament to benefit the Special Olympics.
The article states that Lamb was on a first name basis with most of his customers and was often hailed in the region as the model for how to conduct successful business.
"He made everybody feel like they were his most important customer and that was part of his success," said Mike Brown.
Brown served as publisher of the Siloam Springs Herald-Leader and Benton County Daily Record from 1987 until 2005. He got to know Lamb while calling on him for advertising. In the 20 years since Brown has called on Lamb as a businessman, Brown has kept up his friendship with Lamb and his family.
Brown recalled that Lamb worked a tremendous number of hours.
"Probably nobody worked more hours than Grady did over the years," he said. "Almost any time, any day, you'd find him in the store."
Brown said that Lamb was always out front welcoming customers to the store. If there were too many people waiting in line, he would start checking. If there was something the customer couldn't find in the store and they asked Lamb about it, generally the next time they visited the store it would be there, he said.
"He was very customer minded. ... I suspect his entire career that's what he did and he loved every minute of it," Brown said.
"I would suppose that Grady knew a big percentage of his customers by name, he was that type of individual," said Art Morris. "You'd walk in his store and he would be one of the first people to see and speak to you."
Lamb was quoted in the 2009 Arkansas Democrat Gazette article as saying "You know, people tell me I know everyone. Maybe I do. Siloam Springs took me in when I needed it and I never forgot that. This community has been good for me. It's been my life. They deserve the best and that's what I wake up every day trying to give them."
Morris, who is a retired banker, said that Lamb was one of the first people that he met when he moved to Siloam Springs in 1978. Morris said he remembered seeing Lamb stop what he was doing in the store and carry the groceries out for someone who needed help.
"He was very accommodating," Morris said. "He was always willing to help clubs charities and the school with their needs."
Lamb recently celebrated his 20th anniversary as a director on the Siloam Springs Arvest Bank Board, according to Roger Holroyd, president and chief executive officer of the bank.
"Grady was just a great board member for us," he said.
Tony Barnes, former chief executive officer of Cobb-Vantress, served on the board alongside Lamb. He described Lamb as quiet but knowledgeable.
"I've shopped in his store for over 30 years and he was a wonderful grocer," Barnes said.
Lamb had one of the best attendance records of all the bank's board members in seldom missed a meeting, Holroyd said. The most recent meeting he was able to attend was in July.
"We called him our cheerleader," said Holroyd. "He was always optimistic, whether things were good for the banking industry or the banking industry was having a rough time, he would say 'Things are good and it's going to get better,' and they always did."
Holroyd said that Lamb was always smiling and positive.
"Everybody in town would tell you, anytime you saw Grady he would say 'Happy day,'" Holroyd said. "Even when I visited him in the hospital and he was so sick, he would say 'It's a happy day today.'"
When Lamb still owned the grocery store he spent a tremendous amount of hours at work, Holroyd said.
"It was hard to go in the door, whether it was early morning or late evening, when Grady wasn't there greeting customers, getting carts, thanking them for being in the store," he said.
Holroyd said that Lamb was very proud of his military service. He said Lamb was assigned to a troop transport in the South Pacific.
"When you could get him to talk about it, you could tell it meant a lot to him," he said.
Holroyd also recalled how much Lamb adored his wife.
"He would tell you, if you were someplace and she was there, 'Isn't she the most beautiful woman you've ever seen?' He was absolutely devoted to Kathleen," he said.
The expression in Lamb's voice and the look in his eyes made it clear how much his grandchildren meant to him, Holroyd said.
Lamb's son Dr. Alan Lamb, who became a dentist, and his wife Sherri have one daughter. His son Brian Lamb followed his footsteps into the grocery business and is currently manager of Harps Food Store in Siloam Springs. Brian and his wife Debbie have two sons.
"He was really, really proud of them, in a really humble way," Holryod said.
Holroyd said it became very evident as he got to know Grady that he was someone who had a very strong faith in God.
"I think he really lived out what he considered to be the tenants of his faith. You could tell by the way he lived life, treated people and handled adversity," he said.
"We need more Grady's in the world," Holroyd said. "He was a good man and he will be missed."
General News on 08/23/2015