Arthur Lembke

Arthur Frederick Lembke

Born: September 30, 1931 Passed: May 5, 2022

Devoted husband, beloved father, grandfather, uncle and great uncle, Arthur Frederick Lembke passed away peacefully with his daughter by his side. He was 90 years old.
Arthur was born in Mineola, New York and raised in what he fondly remembered as the Hamlet of Hicksville, New York, now within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County. He resided in Bowie, Maryland from 1964 until 2019 when he moved to Sunrise of Annapolis. He was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church since moving to Bowie, regularly attending Wednesday services with his daughter, in recent years.

Arthur spoke of his youth and remembered specific locations in Hicksville with such clarity that it was evident that those early years influenced the values and integrity he demonstrated as a father, grandfather and uncle. He wrote recently in an email, “All I do now is relive my life, what a beautiful life of 90 years it has been, I've been Blessed.” Reflecting on his youth he wrote, “Looking back, it was a great time to grow up and in a small farm town made it even better. Right after the crash of '29, in ‘31 we grew up with nothing. It really brought people together. We needed each other to make it through. Looking back, it was hard to believe you could be happy and have fun with nothing but each other. The song had it right "GIVE ME THE SIMPLE LIFE".

Arthur graduated from Hicksville High School on June 28, 1949 and then enlisted in the United States Navy. He became an Aviation Electronics Technician, stationed in Gander, Newfoundland, Canada and Lakehurst, New Jersey. He was honorably discharged in 1953 after the Korean War ended. He married Dorothea Sarah Kolb on June 28, 1952 and remained happily married for 48 years until her passing.
Living in Wantagh, New York, in the Town of Hampstead in Nassau County with his family , Arthur joined the Bell Telephone Company and commuted into Manhattan to install telephone lines and telephones in all the new skyscrapers that were being built in the mid-to-late 50s. He took great pride in being a part of the team that helped finish the buildings that people would work in and talk about.

In 1960, the young couple, now with two children, moved to Florida where Arthur pursued job opportunities in Naples and Fort Walton Beach including working for the government Missile Tracking Station.
By 1964, Arthur moved the family to Maryland, first to Glen Burnie and then to Bowie where they settled. Arthur joined the Coast Guard Station in Curtis Bay, Maryland in 1966 and retired in 1994 as a Marine Electrician following a 28-year career. In his retirement he enjoyed traveling with his wife, playing golf well into his 80s with his brother- in-law, son, nephew and grandsons. He was also an avid player of Pinochle and discovered the online version happily playing several rounds with his son.
Arthur was accepted into the Masonic Fraternity in 1968 and remained active with the Birmingham Mason Lodge #188, serving as Worshipful Master in 1975 and 1984.
In his later years, Arthur’s sources of joy were always family gatherings, telephone chats with friends, time listening to music and reading, especially from his bible. His daily emails to family and friends were always anticipated as messages of encouragement, brief updates and the sharing of photos and memories, which would always prompt him to write, “Only seems like a FLASH AGO!” and always his expression of gratitude, “Been Blessed with a wonderful family. May your lives be as BLESSED as mine!”
Arthur is pre-deceased by, and now reunited with, his wife Dorothea Sarah (d. 2001) and his son Dr. Arthur Frederick “Butch” Lembke Jr. (d. 2021).
He is survived by his daughter Irene Marie Hall and her husband Stephen, and his daughter-in-law Nicole Lembke, whom he affectionately called his “daughter”; his grandsons Arthur Frederick “Rick” Lembke III and his wife Michele Lee, and Kevin Lowell Hall and his wife Emily Clare Royer; his sister-in-law Irene Marie Ehscheid, whom he fondly referred to as his “sister”; his nephew Arthur Raymond Ehscheid and his husband Saverio Mancina, and his niece Dorothea Ehscheid Thomas and her son, Arthur’s great nephew, Alex Reese Thomas.

Contributions in memory of Arthur Frederick Lembke may be made to Shriners Hospitals for Children.

https://donate.lovetotherescue.org/give/119312/#!/donation/ checkout?c_src=lttr-home

Please select “In Memory of” and add Recipient’s name of Irene Hall (imariehall@outlook.com) to receive notification of your kind gesture.

or

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
https://www.stjude.org/donate/donate-to-st-jude.html? cID=14262&pID=24671&frequency_selected=2&sc_icid=wtg-mm- memorialcards
Please select “In Memory of” and add Recipient’s name of Irene Hall (imariehall@outlook.com) to receive notification of your kind gesture.

Viewing:

Wednesday, May 11, 2022 6pm-8pm

Thursday, May 12, 2022 12pm-1pm

Gasch's Funeral Home
4739 Baltimore Ave.
Hyattsville, MD 20781
https://www.gaschs.com/

Celebration of Life, bring beautiful memories and happy thoughts to share:

Thursday, May 12, 2022 1pm

Gasch's Funeral Home
4739 Baltimore Ave.
Hyattsville, MD 20781
https://www.gaschs.com/

Internment:

Thursday May 12, 2022

Fort Lincoln Cemetery
3401 Bladensburg Rd.
Brentwood, MD 20722 https://www.dignitymemorial.com/funeral-homes/brentwood-md/fort-