Marilyn Kaye Lake Memorial Service Held In Lambert

A memorial service was held on Saturday, July 17 at Lambert Senior Center to celebrate the life of Marilyn Kaye Lake. 

Marilyn passed away the morning of Jan. 5, 2021 after a decline from dementia and heart ailments.

Marilyn was born and raised in Walla Walla, WA and grew up on a dairy farm near the Whitman Mission Massacre National Historic site. She attended Washington State University and graduated with a teaching degree in physical education. Upon graduation, she began her teaching career in Othello, WA and soon pursued a different teaching position in Sacramento, CA. There she met a government radio repair specialist named Martin (Bud) Lake. 

Bud’s Uncle John Monger decided to retire and offered Bud his farm in Lambert so they both took off to Montana. On their way there, they stopped for the night in Reno, NV and got married. Unbeknownst to the young couple, NBC News was filming a special on weddings. Marilyn and Martin’s wedding would be televised nationally.

Bud and Marilyn settled into farming and raising a family near Lambert. Fredric, Steven, Ira and then later, Jeremy grew up playing basketball to avoid doing dishes after supper. In 1972, Bud and Marilyn took over the management of Lake’s Café in nearby Sidney, changing the name to M&M Café. Bud and Marilyn operated both the farm and restaurant until they decided to sell the farm in 1992. They continued to operate the restaurant until they sold the site and retired in 2012.

Marilyn enjoyed reading and was an ace at trivial pursuit in the literature category. She was famous for her many years of baking pies and caramel rolls at the restaurant.