"In pursuit of her next inimitable journey," Maxine Lamb left her family and friends Saturday, May 19, 2007, at Loma Linda University Medical Center in Loma Linda, Calif., after a short illness. She was born July 22, 1945, in Adelaide, Australia, to Charles and Helen Nelson.

She grew up in Whitefish and graduated from Whitefish High School in 1963. In 1977, she married Don Lamb of Whitefish. They later divorced.

Maxine was hired by the Flathead County Sheriff's Office in 1973 and had the distinction of being the first female deputy sheriff in Flathead County. As a part of her career development, in 1976 she trained with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office and San Diego Police Department Sex Crimes Unit through a grant received from the Montana Board of Crime Control.

This training was pivotal in enabling Maxine, with the help of other professionals in Flathead County, to develop one of Montana's first domestic abuse and child sex crimes intervention and investigative teams. She later became an instructor at the Montana Law Enforcement Academy in sex crimes and child abuse investigations.

Maxine went on to graduate from polygraph school in Spokane, in 1979, and in 1980 became a charter member of the California Sexual Assault Investigators Association. In 1986 she was promoted to sergeant in the Detective Division, and in 1990 was promoted again to the position of lieutenant and assigned to administration and training.

In 1989, she graduated from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Academy in Quantico, Va. Subsequent to that, she lectured at the FBI National Academy to field-training technicians in the area of sex crimes. In 1998, Maxine was promoted to commander of the Detective Division, Special Investigations Division and Training Division.

After 29 years of dedicated service to the Sheriff's Office and the residents of Flathead County, Maxine retired in September 2002. Shortly thereafter, she accepted a position at Lockheed Martin Corporation as a senior technical trainer, where she was assigned to support Homeland Security in the training of Transportation and Safety Administration airport personnel.

Maxine leaves behind her wonderful mother, Helen, brother, Desi, and wife, Bonnie, all of Phoenix; brother, Chuck, and wife, Mary, of Bozeman; sister, Georgia, and husband, Lewis McCready, of Whitefish; son, Darin, of Seattle; son, Frank, and beloved grandson, Max (his grandmother's namesake), of Whitefish. She also leaves behind her many dear friends who will cherish the memories of this very special soul.

A gathering of family and friends to celebrate and reflect on her extraordinary life and character will be announced at a later date.