J. Lambert Bates, 1928-2012

Junior Lambert Bates, 84, of North Ogden, Utah passed away peacefully on Dec. 22, 2012, at his home surrounded by his beloved wife, Darlene, and his son, Steven.

Lambert is survived by his wife of 10 years, Darlene Ferrin (Williams) Bates; his son, Steven Bates and his wife Lisa, Idaho.; his daughter, Debra Davis and her husband Mark, Calif.; his son, Roger Bates and his wife Sherri, Ore.; and his daughter, Holly Bates, Wash., as well as his 13 grandchildren and 6 great- grandchildren.

He was preceded in death and is now joyfully welcomed home by his eternal companion of 50 years, AlaJean Odum Bates; his son, Andrew Scott Bates; his parents, A. Parley and Lucille Bates; and his sister Rowene Bates.

Lambert was born in Ogden, Utah, to A. Parley and Lucille Bates and graduated from Weber High School. He served his first mission for the LDS church in New Zealand. He was also an alumnus of both BYU and the University of Utah where he earned his PhD in 1956.

He was sealed to AlaJean Odum for time and all eternity in the Salt Lake Temple in 1952. He spent most of his adult life in Richland, Wash., where he kept very busy raising his growing family and being employed by Battelle Northwest Laboratories as a senior scientist.

Professionally, Lambert served with distinction as a President of The American Ceramic Society. He became a Fellow of ACerS in 1971 and the Society honored him with its highest award—Distinguished Life Membership—in 1991. He helped organized ACerS’ Nuclear Division and served as chair of the division, chair of the Eastern Washington Section of the Society and chair of the Society’s Publications Committee.

From 1957–1964, Bates was research scientist at the Hanford Laboratories (then part of General Electric, and later renamed the Pacific Northwest National Lab), and later became technical leader of the lab’s Physical Ceramics Section. He engaged in high-temperature properties research on nuclear ceramics for a number of years and established himself as an expert on high-temperature electrical and thermal properties of ceramic nuclear fules. Bates performed the first early work on high-temperature thermal conductivity of UO2 and made significant breakthroughs in high-temperature property measurement techniques. He also conducted research on thermoelectric properties of materials.

He returned to his hometown of North Ogden in 2002 after the death of his dearly loved wife, AlaJean, and married his high school sweetheart, Darlene, who made his last ten years blissfully happy. They shared a mutual love of family history and served a mission together at the Family History Center in Salt Lake City.

When remembering Lambert you will most likely think of him in his favorite place in the world, his cabin in Island Park, Idaho, where he continued his parents’ legacy of fishing, family, and fun.

Condolences may be sent to the family at www.myers-mortuary.com

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