Anna Lambourne / Our Founder
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Annee Lambourne was the Founder and President of the original Lambourne Institute.
In her own words: Through the Institute, I wanted to accomplish a vision that was born in my formative years. I was born to a Greek father, who himself was a refugee from the ethnic cleansing of Christian minorities by the Turks at the turn of the last century. He chose to settle in Vladivostok, Russia in 1913 where he met and married my Ukrainian mother. I was born in 1915. In October of 1922, I witnessed the last battle for the Russian Revolution. We departed for China in December on my ninth birthday in 1924 where I spent 21 years, because by then my single mother was not able to immigrate to any other country. Over these years, I experienced the Chinese Revolution in 1925, the Japanese foothold on Mainland China in 1932 (the year I graduated from high school), the infiltration of the mainland by the Japanese in 1937, and finally, on December 7, 1941 when the Japanese bombed Shanghai, at age 26, I became a “Prisoner of War.”
My three plus years of being a ‘Prisoner of War’ certainly put my life on hold; but I was able to witness the human spirit in action for survival. After the war ended in 1945, at the age of 29, I married a United States Air Force Captain and immigrated to the United States, where for the first time in my life, I became a citizen of the country in which I lived. In 1956, I started taking classes at San Jose State University. She finished my degree in 1974 receiving a B.A. with honors in Russian and French. I was also a member of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi.
In my diverse and extended experience of being a refugee, it was extremely clear to me that we as refugees had very limited opportunities. I saw hundreds of refugees comprised of many generations and a large variety of ethnic backgrounds coping with the pressures of life. I came to the conclusion that those who came from parents who were stable, dependable, loving, resourceful, and supportive had a much better chance at life under even dire circumstances. Their perception of self was strong, and they were able to take greater advantage of their natural talents to make decisions to benefit themselves and their families. They were much more successful in personal relationships and much more resourceful economically. This is why I adopted the motto: “Educate the parents and you will educate the world!”
Anna lived to be 101 and was able to devote much of her later years to working on the vision for the Lambourne Institute. Unfortunately, due to her advancing age and health, she wasn't able to realize her vision for the original Lambourne Institute.
After Anna's passing, a new non-profit was started, to honor her vision, called the Lambourne Institute for Life Mastery.
In her own words: Through the Institute, I wanted to accomplish a vision that was born in my formative years. I was born to a Greek father, who himself was a refugee from the ethnic cleansing of Christian minorities by the Turks at the turn of the last century. He chose to settle in Vladivostok, Russia in 1913 where he met and married my Ukrainian mother. I was born in 1915. In October of 1922, I witnessed the last battle for the Russian Revolution. We departed for China in December on my ninth birthday in 1924 where I spent 21 years, because by then my single mother was not able to immigrate to any other country. Over these years, I experienced the Chinese Revolution in 1925, the Japanese foothold on Mainland China in 1932 (the year I graduated from high school), the infiltration of the mainland by the Japanese in 1937, and finally, on December 7, 1941 when the Japanese bombed Shanghai, at age 26, I became a “Prisoner of War.”
My three plus years of being a ‘Prisoner of War’ certainly put my life on hold; but I was able to witness the human spirit in action for survival. After the war ended in 1945, at the age of 29, I married a United States Air Force Captain and immigrated to the United States, where for the first time in my life, I became a citizen of the country in which I lived. In 1956, I started taking classes at San Jose State University. She finished my degree in 1974 receiving a B.A. with honors in Russian and French. I was also a member of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi.
In my diverse and extended experience of being a refugee, it was extremely clear to me that we as refugees had very limited opportunities. I saw hundreds of refugees comprised of many generations and a large variety of ethnic backgrounds coping with the pressures of life. I came to the conclusion that those who came from parents who were stable, dependable, loving, resourceful, and supportive had a much better chance at life under even dire circumstances. Their perception of self was strong, and they were able to take greater advantage of their natural talents to make decisions to benefit themselves and their families. They were much more successful in personal relationships and much more resourceful economically. This is why I adopted the motto: “Educate the parents and you will educate the world!”
Anna lived to be 101 and was able to devote much of her later years to working on the vision for the Lambourne Institute. Unfortunately, due to her advancing age and health, she wasn't able to realize her vision for the original Lambourne Institute.
After Anna's passing, a new non-profit was started, to honor her vision, called the Lambourne Institute for Life Mastery.