Polly was born in Lincoln, Maine to John and Ruth McNamara on April 7, 1931. She was the seventh of eleven siblings and lived most of her childhood in Ashland, Maine. When she and her sister Elizabeth graduated high school, they enlisted in the Women’s Army Corp and served during the Korean War. Since Polly was only 4’11”, she had to stand on her tiptoes to pass the entry physical, made possible by the long gown she had to wear. After serving at Fort Monroe, Virginia as a secretary to a 4-star general, Polly moved to Tampa, Florida in 1958, where she first began work for the Knight family, at Eugene Knight Inc. She continued to work for the Knights, eventually with C.L. ‘Charley’ Knight at Knight Appraisal Service, where she ran the office and just about everyone in it. After training uncounted staff, new appraisers, ‘green’ attorneys, and others, she, along with her daughter and business partner, Phil Hobby, inherited the business after Charley’s death in 1996. Along the way, Polly married Lawson Lamb (‘Sonny’) and had a daughter, Tracy. Polly and Sonny were huge sports fans and particularly loved the Florida Gators, having attended their first football game in 1963 with Sonny’s sister Dolores and her husband, Charlie Clayton. After becoming season ticket holders in 1964, the Lambs and the Claytons were devoted fans, along with their good friends, the Whites and the Hewetts.
Polly is preceded in death by her husband, Lawson, her parents, and siblings, Charles, Ada, Anne, June, Laura, John, Elizabeth, Annette and Ruth. She is survived by her daughter Tracy Johnston and her husband Jim, grandson Joseph Lawson Lake Yates, granddaughter Jennifer Brissette and her husband Jacque, with great-grandson Jean-Luc, and brother Phillip McNamara, as well as many nieces and nephews.
A graveside service will be held at noon on Friday, December 1 at Myrtle Hill Cemetery in Tampa. Arrangements are being handled by Blount and Curry Funeral Home – Terrace Oaks.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to the Alzheimer’s Association or any charity of your choice. Polly’s family wishes to extend our sincere thanks to the many family members, neighbors, friends, and caregivers who loved and cared for Polly over the years, and the staff at Poet’s Walk Memory Center for the care they provided during the end of her life. Polly had one very special caregiver for over seven years, Ms. Stonie Evans, who resides in Phoenix, and to whom we are forever grateful.
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