KALAMAZOO, MI — From 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. on a Wednesday night in August, Kalamazoo’s Thunderbird River Ranch was filled with laughter and live music. Millie Lambert, former president of the Kalamazoo Education Association, had booked the restaurant for a farewell party for her friends and family. Roughly 200 people showed up to the invite-only party, said Mary Stutton, Lambert’s executor and close friend.