Carol Lambert

We knew little the morning of May 30, 2024, that later on this day Carol would pass into her eternal life at the age of 56. 

Visitation will be held Thursday, June 6, 2024, from 4:00 to 7:00 pm at Christian Fellowship Church, Eldora, Iowa. Funeral service will be Friday, June 7, 2024, at 10:00 am at the Christian Fellowship Church with a lunch following the service. The family will hold a private family burial at a later date.   With honor, Adams Celebration of Life is serving the family. 

Carol Marie Balvanz was born on January 23, 1968, in Iowa City, Iowa, the daughter of Wendell William Balvanz and Janet Irene (Matthews) Balvanz.  She grew up in Eldora, Iowa, graduating from the Eldora-New Providence High School with the Class of 1987, alongside her twin sister Cheryl.  Carol dedicated the last 20-plus years of her life to being an exceptional Activities Director, most recently at Scenic Living Communities in Iowa Falls, Iowa.

Carol was married to Randall James Miller and to this union two children were born; Kara Marie and Dalton James.  They later divorced and she married the love of her life, Trent Lambert, on July 21, 2007.  They made their home in rural Eldora, where she enjoyed her flowers, gardening, canning, seasonal and holiday decorating, both inside and out.  Carol also greatly enjoyed dancing to live music (and forcing Trent to dance with her), Iowa State Cyclone watch parties, hayrides, kayaking down the river, pontoon rides and fishing on Rush Lake in Minnesota or simply sitting next to a bonfire – anything involving good times with good friends.  

Carol cherished her friendships and loved her family fiercely; she loved hard.  Her true passion was the love she gave to her children and grandchildren.  A co-worker wrote “She loved her kids and grandbabies with the kind of love that would change the world if more people loved their kids like that”.    Carol ALWAYS put everyone else before herself – family, friends, fur-babies, nursing home residents, even strangers on the street, never asking for anything in return. 

Carol was exceptionally devoted to all things she cared about and never did anything half-way.  She gave of herself selflessly.  Countless times, she would work a full day as an activities director and then immediately change into scrubs to work another four or five hours as a CNA or whatever position was needed when staff were short-handed.  Her co-workers wrote “She knew how to make the nursing home residents feel at home, how to enjoy life and how to have fun.  She made a resident’s bad day turn into a happy day in an instant” and “This woman helped heal so many people’s hearts with whatever she could do to help”.  Carol had an uncanny knack for connecting with people, particularly certain residents, that no one else could seem to make a connection with.  Her “Why” for doing what she did everyday as an activities director was, in her own words, “Developing lasting relationships with residents and their families by making a real difference in their lives.  I thrive on helping others and really enjoy getting to know them”.  Carol never knew a stranger.

Left to cherish Carol’s memory is her husband, Trent Lambert; their fur-baby, Teddy; daughter Kara Marie Johnson; son Dalton James (Alyssa) Miller; grandchildren Stryker, Beatrice, Eden, Jasmine and Russell; sisters Cynthia (Roger) Hansen, Teressa Clark, Mina (the late Robert) Burgess, Lori (Mike) Roberts, Alma (Steve) Donaldson, Cheryl (Doug) Klosterman, as well as many nieces and nephews.  Additionally, she is survived by her grandmother-in-law Marian Cook; mother-in-law Linda Lambert; brother-in-law Elliot (Emmaleigh) Lambert; sister-in-law Jenny (Matt) Lambert.

In eternal life, Carol was reunited with her Mother, whom she missed dearly, her Father and Father-in-law William Lambert.