Mothers Remember Lambert Children Killed in Plane Crash; Memorial Saturday

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The mothers of three children killed in a weekend plane crash open up about their losses.

Five people total died: John Lambert of Springfield and his children Grayson, McKinley, and Joshua, along with family friend Robin Melton. They were flying back from a Kansas City Royals baseball game.

Holly Lambert, mother of 10-year-old Joshua, and Georgia Marshall, mother of 16-year-old Grayson and 15-year-old McKinley, say their lives have been in a daze since the accident.

The mothers say they keep hoping their kids will walk through the door, but are thankful they have each other during this nightmare.

"I keep thinking I'm going to hear the door open and they're going to walk in," says Georgia Marshall.

Georgia and Holly say they lost their lives four days ago, when the call came in that Grayson, McKinley, and Joshua were gone. Today, they're re-living the precious moments through what they have left, holding onto the vivid memories.

"I can hear my son in my ear saying, 'I love you, mommy.' Just little things I hear and I just think they're coming home," says Georgia.

Georgia and Holly say the kind gestures from the community is their children speaking to them in different ways.

"Somebody I only met one time brought a huge bowl of M&Ms and they had no idea that is Josh's favorite candy that he eats constantly," says Holly. "I have it sitting with his picture and I believe that was a gift from him saying, 'Mom, I'm ok.' I just look at that bowl and say how did that person know."

Remembering and celebrating their children's lives by wearing their favorite colors close to their hearts.

"That has really filled our hearts so much to see how much love there was for our children and how the Springfield community has wrapped up in love and shown our kids so much love," says Holly.

A never-ending love they will always have for Grayson, McKinley and Joshua.

"We thought we had great kids," says Holly. "We knew we had great kids. Every mother thinks that but this really shows us that we really, really did."

The mothers say it brings them comfort knowing they were all together until the very end, with their father by their side.

"He was a good mentor," says Holly. "He was a good peer. They were close to him."

Georgia and Holly say the reality of their children being gone is painful, but are moving forward celebrating their children's' lives.

"He was first in his class," says Georgia. "He did all his homework. He was the best kid. The best boy. McKinley was the social butterfly. The jokester. The prankster."

"Josh is his own personality," says Holly. "He was Mr. Smiley. Mr. Happy all the time."

The family has planned a celebration of life memorial this Saturday at Second Baptist Church at 1 p.m.

Georgia and Holly have set up a memorial page on Facebook. They are encouraging people to wear blue Tuesday in memory of Grayson and green Wednesday for Joshua.

On Monday, students at Glendale High School wore orange for McKinley.

Previous Report:
Classmates Color Coordinate in Honor of Lambert Siblings