Kevin Lambert's memory of a New Sister-in-Law

Memories of Lisa Bills Lambert, by Kevin Lambert (brother in law) Aug. 19, 2013

Lisa & Ralph meeting:

I first met Lisa Bills through a Country Western Dance class hosted by an LDS singles group in Tempe, Arizona in the mid to late 1980s before she met Ralph. An LDS singles group booked a vacation trip from Tempe, AZ to Long Beach, California to take a boat to Catalina Island for about 3 days.  Ralph had called Kevin a little before this trip and I told him about this trip.  As Ralph was doing some work temporarily in Los Angeles at the time, he wanted to join the fun.  Ralph met me at the boat dock in Long Beach.  Lisa and her younger sister were also among the group.  I don’t know if I introduced them on the boat journey over or shortly after arriving in Avalon on Catalina.  In any case, the 4 of us decided to rent a golf cart (they don’t want the tourists renting cars in the little town) to tour the town and the surrounding road along the edge of the hills.  We (or perhaps the Bills sisters) sang primary songs along part of the route.  I didn’t see much of Ralph the rest of the weekend, unless it was in a group including Lisa.

Lisa & Ralph’s wedding day:

After the wedding/sealing in the LDS, Mesa, Arizona temple in mid April there were photographs on the grounds followed by a wedding luncheon.  As I recall Ralph missed some of the meal or at least didn’t feel well and looked a bit pale.  We thought it was a case of nerves and exhaustion after all the preparations and travel.  That evening as we gathered for the reception at an LDS chapel in Tempe, no one had seen Ralph.  Lisa’s mom and others were quite concerned as several of us were sent in search of Ralph when photos were to taken in advance of the guests arriving.  We found Ralph in the men’s restroom, quite sick and weak and afraid to leave the conveniences of the bathroom in his condition.  Dr. Kim Bateman (Ralph’s brother in law) examined Ralph and concluded that he had a 24 hour flu.  So the wedding line up was arranged.  Lisa made sure that there was a large space between myself (the best man) and herself, so that no one would be confused that she had married me.  As guests came through the line, a very few got to visit briefly with Ralph in the hall.  Ralph came in for a few minutes for a few photos.

As the reception came to an end, the car was checked for their exit and Lisa found that some of her female friends and decorated it and put things in her suitcase.  I think that was the last straw at the end of a long and stressful day.  I (in my tux) and one of the maids of honor (in her special dress) took the car to a car wash the exterior and clean out whatever other foreign objects were attached to or inside the car.  Must have been an interesting sight to the observers at the car wash.

Back at the church Ralph was loaded in the passenger side seat with the back reclined and Lisa driving to the hotel in Scottsdale.  I and a bridesmaid followed them to make sure everything was OK with no further problems.  At some stop lights Ralph raised his arm in the car so that we knew he was OK.  Lisa and I went into the hotel to get the room key and then Lisa, I and the bridesmaid carried in their luggage and helped Ralph to the room.

By the next afternoon, when Lisa & Ralph opened many of their gifts, Ralph was present and doing a bit better.  Lisa was a real trooper!

The Honeymoon:

Lisa & Ralph drove from Tempe, AZ thru southern California and up the coast to their new home east of San Francisco.  But as with the wedding, the honeymoon was not to be without events that could later be recounted with humor, but perhaps not with humor when they happened.  Stopping at one curve in the coastal highway, a car came speeding around the curve, but didn’t make the bend and ran off the road and down a slope in a brushy area.  Ralph rushed down to help the people out of the car and make sure they were OK.  Without realizing it, Ralph had gone through a bunch of poison oak brush to which he was quite sensitive.  His skin started blistering on the honeymoon and was just healing a week or two later at the reception in Claremont, Calif. at the home of Ralph’s parents. At another stop along the coastal highway on their honeymoon, they were taking a photo of a very tall bridge when suddenly someone jumped off the bridge and between very rapid heart beats they thought they had a photo of a suicide attempt.  But to their relief, it was someone jumping off the bridge to catch the wind using a parasail/human kite!

The Claremont reception:

Ralph worked as a geologist and was frequently called to spend a few days in the field at remote locations.  A few days after their arrival in Northern California from their honeymoon, Ralph was called to a field assignment in central California, scheduled to end the day before the reception.  I think Lisa had already had enough of adventure by this time and was getting worried on Saturday morning when Ralph had not yet arrived in Claremont.  Ralph arrived shortly before the reception, having driven the distance from the field site.

Lisa’s adventure with Ralph began with meeting someone new on an island vacation (can’t get much more romantic than that), followed by a wedding day, receptions and a honeymoon full of surprises to be remembered!