LAMB, Billy Marie Andrée Hillone Barton Michel
Billy Lamb, age 101, passed away peacefully on Sunday, March 20, 2022, in Middletown. She was born on June 27, 1920, in the village of Decize, in the Loire Valley of France, the daughter of
William Barton and Marie (Jarre) Barton. She moved to Paris as a young woman. Industrious from an early age, she supported herself in Paris through a series of jobs, ultimately as the owner of a dress shop. She experienced first-hand in Paris the hardships of World War II as well as the liberation of the city by the American troops in August 1944, which she remembered with gratitude for the rest of her life.
She moved permanently to the United States in February 1959, as a single mother with three children, three trunks of clothing and $25 in her purse. Shortly after her arrival in
Middletown, where her father and mother had relocated
after the war, she enrolled in a beauty school in Hamilton. She worked in Middletown as a hair stylist at the shop that she
established on Central Avenue for twenty-five years, until the 1980s. She also modeled for Rike's in downtown Dayton. She married Judge John T. Lamb in 1978. She was previously
married to Pierre S. Michel.
She is preceded in death by her parents, her brothers Roy Barton and Bill Barton, and her husbands, John T. Lamb and Pierre S. Michel. She is survived by her daughters, Dominique Michel and Maryline (John) Michel Kulewicz, and her son,
William P. Michel; Sandy Michel; her grandchildren, Krystal
Michel, Julie Michel, Adam Kulewicz and Abigail Kulewicz; her great-grandchildren, Brenden Michel, Gavin Michel, Malliyah Richards and Quincy Edwards; and her nieces, Billy Meehan, Marilyn Barton and Chantal Barton.
Mayor Nicole Condrey of Middletown recognized her on her one hundredth birthday as a woman whose "life story of strength and determination stands as a hallmark for others to emulate and as an inspiration to others to pursue their dreams for themselves and their families." Mayor Justine Guyot of Decize paid tribute to her as "The Most Beautiful Woman of Decize."
Looking back on her life at age 100, she said that she was a happy woman who had no regrets. "You have to make decisions that are best for your kids. I will do whatever for them. All that mattered to me was my three kids."
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated by Father John Civille at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 26, at St. John Catholic Church, 1405 1st Avenue in Middletown. The family will receive friends from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. (one hour before Mass) at the church. Memorial contributions may be made to the VFW Post 3809, 4541 S. Dixie Highway, Franklin, Ohio 45005. Arrangements entrusted to the Breitenbach-Anderson Funeral Home. Please share memories and condolences at www.breitenbach-anderson.com. Cards may be sent to the family c/o Breitenbach-Anderson Funeral Home, 517 S. Sutphin Street, Middletown, Ohio 45044. Special thanks to Hospice Care of Middletown.
LAMB, Billy
