he retired from the oklahoma supreme court, effective august 1, 2007. a retirement ceremony was held in his office on july 23, 2007, where his family, friends and present and former supreme court colleagues honored him for his 42 years of service on the court, longer than any other justice in the history of the oklahoma supreme court. then-governor brad henry read a quote that lavender had made when he first took office. "my sole ambition as a member of this court is to study the cases, work hard, and so conduct my personal life as to inspire confidence and earn the trust of the people in this court as an institution. it is my opinion that a strong and independent judiciary composed of men of unimpeachable integrity is an absolute essential to the continuation of our society.”