David Lee Lambert, a stalwart Halls leader, has died at age 78.

David owned and operated a financial planning business and was active in the Halls Business & Professional Association. In the mid-1990s, he and Carl Tindell joined with Clark Hamilton, Bill Smeltzer and others to lobby the state of Tennessee for road improvements. BRINK was Better Roads in North Knox, and the leaders made repeated trip to Nashville at their own expense to push for attention that led to funding for improvements to I-640 at Broadway, widening of Emory Road, and improvements to the intersection of Norris Freeway, Emory Road and Maynardville Pike.

A state legislator once joked that the TDOT commissioner said, “OK, we’ll fund this. Just keep those guys from Knoxville at home.”

David was the younger brother of celebrity chef Walter Lambert, who commented on his relationship with David and wife Wanda: “That family brought all anyone could want. They will be in my heart every day.”

The Halls BPA named David Lambert Man of the Year in 1999 and he attained lifetime membership in the organization. David and Wanda attended Salem Baptist Church. His favorite nonprofits included the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the Shriners and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Additional obituary information is here.