Odell, Susan L.

September 4, 1951- April 13, 2017 Susan Carol Lambert Odell was born in Bland County, Virginia, in 1951, raised in the Triangle Lake area of the Coast Range of Oregon, and returned to Bland County in time for high school. She graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VA Tech) in 1973, married Curtis Earl Odell, and went to work as a Forester in the U.S. Forest Service. As a female Forester, she was a trailblazer for women in the male-dominated fields of forestry and other natural resources. Her first assignment was on the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area on the Jefferson National Forest in Virginia. In 1976, she and Curtis moved to Oregon, where she worked on the Malheur National Forest, and later on the Ochoco National Forest. In 1980, she was appointed to be the District Ranger of the Mariposa District of the Sierra National Forest in central California. With that appointment she became the second female District Ranger in the history of the US Forest Service. In 1984, she was appointed to be the District Ranger of the Big Bear District of the San Bernardino National Forest in southern California. In 1986, Christopher was born, and with that birth, she became the first serving District Ranger to have a baby. In 1989, she took a 2-year developmental assignment in the Washington Office, with the intention of continuing her career in line management in the National Forest System. Curtis, however, was offered a permanent job at NASA, if he would agree to stay in the D.C. area, so Susan shifted her career focus within the USFS, and remained in the Washington Office. She traveled all over the country putting on seminars in areas adversely affected by the reduction in timber sales, helping communities to diversify from sole reliance on timber as their economic engine. She retired from the U.S. Forest Service in 2007 as the National Coordinator for Rural Community Development. Susan was an active volunteer in her church and other civic organizations. For years she was the Mid-High Youth leader, Adult Sunday School teacher and Prayer Group leader at Hughes United Methodist Church in Wheaton, Maryland. At the time of her passing, she was the Co-Lay Leader and actively involved in many of the congregation's ministries. She was preceded in death by her parents, Vance Leon Lambert, Sr., and Ivy Jean Wigley Lambert. She is survived by her husband of 43 years, Curtis Earl Odell; and by her son, Christopher Lambert Odell. Also surviving her are three sisters, Audrey J. Lambert, Nancy L. Hatcher, and Valerie L. Hatcher and husband, Kevin; as well as one brother, Vance Leon Lambert, Jr.; nieces Beth Lambert Carter and Amy L. Hatcher; nephew, Vance Leon Lambert, III (Trey) and wife, Valentina; and great nephew, Chase A. Lambert. Services will be held Saturday, April 29, 2017, at Trinity United Methodist Church. Visitation from 10 until 11 a.m. followed by a memorial service at 11 a.m. and then burial at Old Bethel Cemetery on the family's farm.