Kevin Lee Gamblin

GAMBLIN, Kevin Lee (a.k.a. Chatty Kathy) 12/30/1959 – 04/07/2020 Kevin Lee Gamblin was born December 30, 1959 in Omaha, NE at Bishop Clarkson Memorial to Conrad Lee and Wilma Jean Gamblin. He was followed by three other rambunctious boys, Kendell, Keith, and Kirk. Kevin and his siblings were raised in Omaha until their father, C. Lee, was called by God into ministry. They moved to Colorado Springs, CO where their father attended Bible College. It was in Colorado Springs where Kevin graduated in 1978 from William J. Palmer High School. Not long after, C. Lee was called to a church in Mohall, ND. After they all moved there, Kevin decided Mohall was just not for him. He caught a ride with a church bus back to his hometown of Omaha. He lived with relatives until he could afford a place of his own. Shortly after that, when he was 18, he met Sue Sciford. They married September 15, 1979, and they were married for 22 years. Together they had six wonderful children: Sean Montgomery (passed away soon after birth), Michael Lee, Brian Kenneth, Jeffrey Daniel, Elizabeth Joy, and Jamie Sue. Kevin had 8 grandchildren. Michael and Kathryn have Montgomery Lee. Brian and Chelsey have Evan, Erin, Ethan, and Emily. Jeffrey has Jayde, Chelsea, and Milo. On December 24, 2006 he married Michelle Winchester. He became the stepdad of four children Jordan, Jacob, Jamie Marie, and Jackson. They moved to Abilene, Kansas. This way they could be near Kevin’s parents. They lived there for only about a year or two because in the end their hearts desired to be near the Omaha area. They decided to move to Missouri Valley, Iowa where they lived for the remainder of their marriage. Kevin and Michelle were married for almost 10 years. Kevin thoroughly enjoyed being able to help raise the children and be able to watch them grow into the fine young adults they are today. He was thrilled to be blessed with 2 more grandchildren when Jamie Marie had a daughter named Noah Christine, and Jacob had a son named Gunner. He cherished each and every one of his grandchildren with all his heart. Kevin worked a variety of jobs throughout his life including Western Electric, Ken-Venience Sales Company (Tupperware distributorship), Lozier Corporation, and then decided to learn to drive a semi through Covenant Trucking. He concluded that over-the-road driving was not for him. From there he decided to truck drive with his father and realized that local trucking was more his speed. He continued with this career for the remainder of his life where he ended with Westwind Logistics. Kevin had a wide variety of hobbies and talents. He belonged to multiple bowling leagues for many years. He enjoyed being able to not only bowl in leagues, but also teaching his children how to bowl. After bowling nights, they (Kevin and Sue) would go to his brother-in-law’s home to play cards. Kevin was one of the most avid readers you would ever meet. One of his favorite authors was Louis L’Amour, an author of Western Novels. Whereas western novels were his favorite fiction books, The Bible was his favorite non-fiction book. He enjoyed the deep conversations that came with discussing God and His ways. Kevin was a big fan of history and enjoyed taking his kids on trips to the museums in Omaha. He loved watching new and old movies. Thankfully he had good taste and enjoyed all the different Marvel movies, and for some reason he liked the DC movies as well (I suppose we can overlook this negative aspect). He also loved going to Vivian and Richard’s (The Farm) and working on tractors with Richard and Michael. He was a fan of old cars and would go to any car or boat show he could, and he loved being able to drag all his kids along with. Eventually that became kids and grandkids that would go with him. One of his biggest passions was for music. The Gaither Vocal Band was by far one of his favorite groups. He absolutely loved singing. Kevin had a very lovely, and soothing, bass voice. He would sing all the time, whether it was by himself, in a quartet, with family, or while helping lead worship service. The bass and acoustic guitar were the two main instruments he played. The thing is, he only played and sung by ear. He never learned how to read music. Kevin was a member at Central Church of the Nazarene but ended up changing his membership to First Baptist Church – Omaha, where his children and their families attend. He was a part of the praise and worship team. He played bass guitar for the team for a while. Then he ended up becoming one of the singers during the Sunday morning worship service. During the last handful of years of his life he resided in Shelby, Iowa. He moved there because four out of his five children currently live there. This was so he could be closer to his children and grandchildren. Anyone who knew Kevin, knew that he could hold a conversation with the best of them. He could talk with anyone and everyone for hours on end. He made friends everywhere he went that came from all walks of life. His children constantly teased him about taking a long time talking to everyone as he was trying to go, or leave, somewhere. Someone would ask where Kevin is at, and the answer was almost always “oh, he pry got caught up talking to someone. It should only be a couple hours”. He would talk about any topic that someone wanted to discuss. He was always quick to help someone when they were in need whether it was monetary, emotionally, or spiritually. Kevin was most definitely a people person, and he will always be remembered for that. Kevin Lee is preceded in death by his mother Wilma Gamblin (Campbell), brother Keith Gamblin Sr., son Sean Gamblin (newborn), granddaughter Erin Gamblin (2), and niece Mariah Sciford (3). He is survived by father C. Lee Gamblin; brothers: Kendell (Colleen) Gamblin, Kirk (Kristie) Gamblin; children: Michael (Kathryn) Gamblin, Brian (Chelsey) Gamblin, Jeffrey Gamblin, Elizabeth Gamblin, and Jamie Sue Gamblin; ex-wife, and friend, Sue (Darrell) Reed; step-children: Jordan Winchester, Jacob (Jamie Michelle) Winchester, Jamie Marie Winchester, and Jackson Winchester; grandchildren: Evan (9), Jayde (8), Chelsea (6), Ethan (5), Montgomery (3), Emily (3), and Milo (3); step-grandchildren: Noah Christine (4) and Gunner (3). He is also survived by numerous aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews. A mass amount of extended family, friends, and strangers that became friends (even if only for a short, most likely long, conversation). Kevin graciously touched the lives of many people, and he will be dearly missed by all who were blessed with the opportunity to meet him. A private burial will take place at Cedardale Cemetery in Papillion, NE. A public memorial service will be held at a later date