Remembering John Lambie
John A. Lambie, former associate clinical professor at UND’s School of Medicine & Health Sciences, was born February 16, 1928, in Denver, Colorado to John W. Lambie and Hilda F. Lambie (Flaat). He attended grade school in Denver and moved to Grand Forks, N.D., with his parents and brother, Rodger, in 1940. In Grand Forks, he went to school at South Junior High and Central High School, graduating in 1946. He then studied at the University of North Dakota for two years before transferring to North Dakota State University, graduating in 1950 with a degree in agriculture.
John spent two years on active duty with the Fargo Air National Guard during the Korean War from April 1951 to December 1952. He married Doris E. Benson on December 28, 1952, at St. Petrie Lutheran Church in rural Stephen, Minn., following his discharge.
In 1953, he and his brother, Rodger, farmed for one year. They then decided to quit farming and both attended medical school. They attended the University of North Dakota two-year medical school and John then transferred to the University of Pennsylvania Medical School in Philadelphia to finish the last two years, graduating with a medical degree in 1958. He interned at the Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia in 1959, then completed a three year residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan. After residency he returned to Grand Forks in 1962 and practiced Internal Medicine at the Grand Forks Clinic and its successor, Altru Clinic, until his retirement in 1999.
He was a member of the American Medical Association, the North Dakota Medical Association, The Third District Medical Society, a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and a member of Phi Kappa Phi, Alpha Zeta, and Alpha Omega Alpha honorary scholastic societies. He received the Roche Award for outstanding leadership and scholarship at the UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences in 1956. In 1998, he was awarded the Laureate Award by the American College of Physicians, and in 2012 was given the first Robert M. Jacobson Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award by Altru Health System.
Dr. Lambie served as Chief of Staff at St. Michael’s Hospital and later, United Hospital. He served on the Board of Directors of United Hospital, Medical Park, and the Grand Forks Clinic where he was board president for many terms. He was the Medical Director of the Grand Forks Clinic as well as Medical Director of Great Plains Health Maintenance Organization. He was president of the Third District Medical Society, was a delegate and councilor for the North Dakota State Medical Association and served as council president. He was a member of the council at Calvary Lutheran Church and was president for one term. He was on the board of directors of First National Bank and its successor, Alerus Financial for 17 years. He was an Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at the UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences, where he taught students in the clinic and the hospital, served on the boards of the Northeast Mental Health Center and the United Way, and served a three-year term on the UND Medical School Board of Admissions.
While president of the Grand Forks Clinic he was a member of the original Medical Park Board responsible for the merger of St. Michael’s Hospital and Deaconess Hospital to form its successor, United Hospital. Later the Medical Park Board decided to build a new combined United Hospital at its present site in Medical Park. Twenty physicians, including Dr. Lambie, as well as the clinic manager, Ken Peterson, purchased the land for Medical Park. They donated part of the land for construction of the new United Hospital as well as the new UND Medical Rehabilitation Hospital. In addition, those twenty-one people contributed $250,000 to United Hospital for construction of the building. United Hospital and the adjacent Grand Forks Clinic were built and started operations in 1974. In 1997 the clinic and hospital were merged forming what is now Altru Health System.
John loved to spend time with his family at his cottage on Lake Movil near Bemidji, Minnesota. He enjoyed swimming, fishing, water skiing and playing golf there. He liked to hunt waterfowl and upland game in North Dakota in the fall. In the winter he played indoor tennis and went on family ski trips to Colorado, Utah, Montana and California. He also enjoyed spending time with the family’s Miniature Schnauzers, Blitz and Jake.
Although he no longer actively farmed he continued to have an interest in agriculture. He managed his farmland south of Grand Forks and near Forest River. Some of the land was originally homesteaded by his grandfather, William Lambie.
After retirement, John and Doris spent 13 winters in Palm Desert, California. Over the years they visited all 50 states, Mexico, Canada, Europe and the Caribbean Islands. In December 2022, Doris and John celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary.
John passed away at home surrounded by family on September 19, 2023. He was preceded in death by his parents, John W. Lambie and Hilda F. Lambie and is survived by his wife Doris, sons Paul (Dawn) Lambie and Eric Lambie (Barbara Conradt), daughter Susan (Andrew) Corthell, and grandchildren Erin (Nate) Alston, Gabriel Lambie, Cody Corthell, Colton Corthell, Max Conradt and Axel Conradt.
Visitation will begin at 10 AM, followed by a Memorial Service at 11 AM on Monday, September 25, 2023, at Calvary Lutheran Church, 1405 S. Ninth Street, Grand Forks. Following the service, lunch will be provided at the church and those who wish may join the family at the interment at Memorial Park Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family prefers memorials to UND Medical School or Calvary Lutheran Church. https://Calvarygf.org. An online guestbook is available at www.amundsonfuneralhome.com.
