Teletha Ann Lambert, age 47, passed away on Wednesday, July 12, 2023, in San Antonio, Texas. Teletha was born to Leslie Welker and Brent Hathaway on August 3, 1975, in Rexburg, Idaho.
Teletha spent much of her youth as an Air Force brat moving between Florida and Arizona multiple times. During her high school years, her parents settled down in Heber City, Utah. During High School, Teletha was an accomplished track and field athlete and volleyball player while also playing for her high school marching band. She enjoyed the outdoors and spending leisure time at Lake Powell. In addition to her school activities, Teletha participated twice in the Miss Wasatch County as a member of the royal court. She attended Brighton High School in Cottonwood Heights, Utah and then graduated from Wasatch High School in 1993 and went off to Ricks College (now Brigham Young University-Idaho) in the town of her birth where she earned an associate degree in 1995. Teletha then attended Utah State University in Logan, Utah where she earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Sociology with a minor in Forestry and Land Management in 1997. During college, Teletha continued to show her grit and toughness by working in a meat-packing plant and then for the forest service putting up fences and clearing out brush. She also began to take up rock climbing and weightlifting.
Teletha met her husband, Jonathan, in August 1998 during training as new employees of a call center in Murray, Utah. Teletha, with her beautiful auburn hair, green eyes, and tan skin immediately attracted Jonathan’s attention, but Teletha was initially unimpressed with his attempts at flirtation. As Teletha had already graduated college, she was looking for a full-time job while Jonathan was only seeking part-time employment as he finished his undergraduate education. After training was complete, Teletha was made Jonathan’s supervisor–just the opening he needed to continue wooing her. Eventually, Jonathan won Teletha over after a courtship of 18 months resulting in their marriage at the Utah Bountiful Temple on April 29, 2000.
By that time Jonathan had completed his undergraduate degree and his first year of law school at Brigham Young University in Provo, UT. Teletha put Jonathan through school by working for the Provo Police Department as a dispatcher. She had previously learned emergency services dispatching at Salt Lake County a few years earlier. During her time with the Provo PD, she was awarded Dispatcher of the Month and played a critical role during the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics.
When Jonathan graduated law school in 2002, he applied and was accepted into the Judge Advocate General Corps for the U.S. Army, and thus began Teletha’s saying that every year in the Army for her husband was two years in the Army for her as a military spouse. She certainly earned her “commission” giving birth to three beautiful kids in a little over two years (daughter in 2003 and daughter/son twins in 2005) and moving nine times over the span of 20 years. Teletha took charge of raising the kids, including some home schooling, and keeping Jonathan’s career on track. The moves took her and her family to Charlottesville, VA twice; Fort Campbell, KY; Fort Lewis, WA twice; Fort Bliss, TX twice; Fort Carson, CO; and lastly to Fort Sam Houston, TX. She had lived in San Antonio for five years at the time of her passing, the longest she lived in any town in her lifetime. While in San Antonio, she transitioned from being a full-time mom to working full-time for the City of Live Oak, Texas as an emergency services dispatcher. She worked for Live Oak for a little under two years.
Over the years, Teletha was a fierce, yet loving, protector of her three children and their biggest fan. She was a tough woman, but for those who got to know her found she had a heart of gold. She supported her husband throughout his career, including holding down the fort alone during two deployments. She enjoyed baking—especially amazing, social media worthy, birthday cakes for her family. Her baking skills were so renowned that she was often called a closet Martha Stewart, with whom she happens to share a birthday! Teletha was also an expert at planning and organizing trips and other activities and many sought her advice on how to plan a successful move or yard sale. In addition, Teletha would gladly admit that she was a book and movie nerd, enjoying the likes of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, the Harry Potter series, Star Wars, Top Gun, and Tombstone (“I’m your huckleberry”). She had a great sense of humor, a deep love of the mountains, and enjoyed visiting unique places wherever she lived. Above all, she loved being with her family.
During her final moments, Teletha was surrounded by her husband, all three of her children, and her mother, exactly the way she hoped. She is survived by her husband, Jonathan C. Lambert; daughters, Nalani A. Lambert, and Teagan JE Lambert; son, Asher C. Lambert; mother, Leslie D. Welker; father, Brent R. Hathaway; sisters, Brenna K. Herbert, and Kristi L. Miller. Teletha chose to be buried in Bountiful, Utah, just a couple of blocks from where she married her husband.
Please join her family at a graveside service for Teletha on Saturday, August 19, 2023 at 11:00 am at Lakeview Memorial and Cemetery, 1640 South Lakeview Drive, Bountiful.Service Information
Graveside Service
August 19, 2023 at 11:00 am
Lakeview Memorial and Cemetery