William L. Lane

William Lowry Lane of Easton died on Wednesday December 26, 2007. Born in Wilmington, Delaware on September 12, 1919, he was the son of the late Clarence Augustus Lane and Mary Downing Lane. Mr. Lane attended St. Albans School in Washington, DC, graduating from St. Michaels High School after the family moved from Washington to the farm outside of Neavitt which is now the Jean Ellen Dupont Sheehan Audubon Center. After graduation Mr. Lane entered college and then the U. S. Merchant Marines for a 3.5 year enlistment. Upon his return from service, he graduated from the University of Maryland in 1946 with a major in agricultural economics and was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity. After his college graduation he was employed by the St. Michaels Milling Company which then merged with J. McKenny Willis and CO. forming Bayshore Foods. He was involved with all aspects of the poultry industry on the Eastern Shore and was primarily responsible for the hatchery operations, feeding, raising and the processing of product. After Bayshore Foods, Mr. Lane was prominent in food processing operations for Kane Miller, the successor to Bayshore Foods. Mr. Lane was president of the Trustees of the Third Haven Friends Meeting, past commodore of the Tred Avon Yacht Club and The Chesapeake Bay Yacht Club, and past president of the Maryland Agricultural Society of The Eastern Shore. He also served on many local Boards and gave generously of his time and talents. As a birthright Quaker, he oversaw the complete historic renovation and restoration of the Third Haven Meeting House in Easton. He was an avid sailor, competing in regattas worldwide. He won the Chesapeake Bay men’s sailing Championship at the United States Naval Academy in 1954. He also won the Penguin Atlantic Coast Championship in 1956. His other passions included furniture and boat building. He was married to the late Alice Bartlett Lane, who died in November 2003. He is survived by four sons, Henry Downing Lane, William Lowry Lane, Jr., Thomas Dixon Lane, Francis Bartlett Lane, nine grandchildren and one great grand daughter. A memorial service will be held at The Third Haven Meeting House on January 12th, 2008 at 11:00 A. M. Memorial donations, in lieu of flowers, may be made to The Trustees of the Third Haven Meeting, 406 S. Washington St. Easton, MD 21601 or Talbot Hospice Foundation. Funeral arrangements are by Fellows, Helfenbein and Newnam Funeral Home, P.A., Easton, MD.