Lambert with his wife Danielle
Kay Wagner said her grandson Clayton was a die hard Auburn fan who could always put a smile on your face and will be greatly missed after being killed in a vehicle crash Friday night near Crestview.
Clayton Lambert, 29, of Crestview died in a single-vehicle accident at 7:25 p.m. while traveling to Panama City to pick his mother up at the airport.
According to reports filed by the Florida Highway Patrol, Lambert was driving a 2014 Ford Fusion when he failed to negotiate a turn on County Road 393 in Okaloosa County. The vehicle struck a tree and overturned several times. The report noted Lambert was not wearing a seatbelt and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Wagner said she heard about her grandson's death about 5:30 p.m. Saturday.
She said while they didn't see each other often, they stayed in touch through Facebook.
"He was my first grandchild," Wagner said. "I called him Clay Boy. You might find this hard to believe, but he was a bigger Auburn fan than me. He was a faithful Tiger, ever to conquer, never to yield. He loved, breathed, ate everything Auburn."
She said the last time she saw him in person was a couple of years ago when he stopped by the Flomaton Area Railroad Museum on her birthday and brought her a card and some hard candy.
"He always wrote me saying 'what ever happens you will always be my granny'," Wagner said. "It's a great loss to me."
Clayton's uncle, Earl Lambert of Brewton, echoed Wagner's assessment of Clayton's love for Auburn.
"He said what he wanted to do was to be the next Jim Fyffe," Lambert said. "He wore something everyday with an Auburn emblem on it and was a walking encyclopedia of Auburn football."
He said while Clayton wasn't cut out for college, he was always a hard worker.
"He was a real people's person," Lambert said. "He was real animated and a good worker."
He said Clayton worked with him and Clayton's father Denny and he could aways be counted on.
"Clayton was really soft hearted," Lambert said. "He'd go see my mother all the time when she was alive. It's just sad."
Lambert's funeral is scheduled for today (Thursday, Jan. 18) at 3 p.m. at First Baptist Church in Crestview. Visitation will begin at 1 p.m.
Lambert is survived by his wife Danielle; his parents Denny and Tanya Lambert; one sister, Taylor Lambert Causey; and grandparents Bobby and Cathy Wagner, Kay Wagner, Janice Cheatham and Lavaughn Dorman.
In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made to the First Baptist Church's building fund in memory of Clay. Donations can be sent to First Baptist Church,171 Hickory Ave., Crestview, Fla. 32536.
