Amy Ard (Plotner) Lambert, 66, a resident of Peachtree City, Georgia, became an Angel on July 9, 2024, after a thirty-year battle with brain cancer.
Born October 13, 1957, in Hagerstown, Maryland, she, along with her twin sister, Abby, were the third and fourth children of Dr. Robert and Barbara Ard.
Amy graduated from Woodson High School, in Fairfax, Virginia, Class of 1975. She attended Virginia Tech University, earning a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1979. Amy soon afterwards started a rewarding Flight Attendant career for Delta Air Lines, in November of 1979. She retired in 2012, after thirty-three years of dedicated and distinguished service.
Amy was only fourteen months old when tragedy struck the Ard family, in December 1958. Her father, the local doctor, did not survive a car accident on his way home after having delivered a baby. Amy’s grandfather was the Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, in Hagerstown, Maryland. The church community rallied around the Ard family to ease the burden of this moment.
Her mother met and married James Roach in January of 1965, who also had a son from a previous marriage. Mr. Roach served his country honorably, as a United States Navy pilot during World War II. The combined Ard/Roach family then moved to Fairfax, Virginia. They prospered and enjoyed many wonderful memories, with an additional son of their own, adding to an already extensive family tree.
Besides enjoying Fairfax, precious memories were made from their many summers spent at Ocean City, New Jersey, in the month of June and Ocean City, Maryland, during the month of August. The family also attended many Washington Redskins football games in the fall.
Amy married Gregg Plotner in 1982 and had a son, Nicholas, in 1986. They decided to separate, creating a new path for Amy and Nicholas. With the help of friends and family, she had the strength to simultaneously uphold the greatest qualities of a caring mother and excel as a Flight Attendant.
November 1993 changed the lives of Amy and her loved ones, with a sudden diagnosis of brain cancer. Her parents and all her support system immediately came to her and Nicholas’ aid. Amy was in the daily care of Emory University Hospital, for radiation and chemotherapy treatments.
She was initially given six months to live. However, Amy’s strong faith in God, Jesus, and her unwavering will to care for her son, led her through this cruel disease. Amy became a living miracle, a legend to Emory University Hospital and all who knew her.
Amy had the honor to become a respected lecturer at Emory University Hospital, to convey how a positive attitude can help fight some of the toughest battles with brain cancer. She was interviewed numerous times on television, to tell her unique story of survivability.
Amy would later collaborate with Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Chief Medical Correspondent at the Cable News Network (CNN), to spearhead metro Atlanta’s first Brain Tumor Walkathon, on behalf of brain tumor research.
At a July 4th parade in 1997, Amy and her son Nicholas, happened to meet Alex Lambert and his young son, John, from Alex’s previous marriage. After years of juggling through each other’s careers, schedules and family dynamics, Alex proposed to Amy in 2002. They married in 2005 in Oxford, Maryland, and began the most wonderful eighteen years of life together.
Amy retired in 2012 and Alex retired in 2018. They were enjoying their golden years until February 2023, when Amy was again diagnosed with multiple brain tumors. Unlike her previous battle with cancer, these tumors were inoperable. She fought like the warrior she always was, until God decided it was time for her to journey unto heaven.
Amy’s 1993 miracle helped her live long enough to guide her son through high school and college, see Nicholas meet and marry the most wonderful woman, Brittany, and witness her grandson, Kai, be born.
Amy was truly one of a kind, loved by all who met her, and will be forever missed; she never considered anyone a stranger. Her extreme love of family, friends, and life itself, always shined through with her radiant smile and laugh.
She treasured her time with Delta Air Lines, and treated every passenger like they were already part of her family. She enjoyed travelling and was fortunate to visit different continents and beautiful cities of the world.
Family always came first for Amy, and she would unselfishly rush to anyone’s side, if she could assist in any way. Amy undoubtedly left everything on the field of life; failure was never an option to her.
Our world has lost one of the best there is, but God has called upon her to be one of his best Angels in Heaven.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Dr. Robert and Barbara Ard; stepfather, James “Pops” Roach.
Amy is survived by her husband, Alex; son, Nicholas Plotner (Brittany); grandson, Kai; stepson, John Lambert (Maegen); stepbrother, Dr. James Roach (Elizabeth); her sisters Camille Pecorak (T.J.) and Abby Cross (Kim); brothers Robert Ard (Holly) and Whitney Roach (Chantale). Amy will also be missed by numerous nieces, nephews, extended family, and cherished life-long friends.
In lieu of flowers: the family lovingly requests donations be made in Amy’s honor, to the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University. A donation can also be made to any other worthy cause, fitting Amy’s memory.
A memorial service will be held at 3:30 PM on Saturday, August 10, 2024, at the Chapel of Mowell Funeral Home, Peachtree City. The family will receive friends from 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM prior to the service at the funeral home.
We welcome you to provide your condolences, thoughts, and memories on our Tribute Wall.
Mowell Funeral Home & Cremation Service, Peachtree City, www.mowells.com
