William Coley Lane, 80, of Kellogg, Idaho (formerly of Bay City, Wash.) passed away Friday, April 10, 2015 at Hospice House of North Idaho in Coeur d’Alene. He was born February 17, 1935 in Brattleboro, Vermont. William was the son of Cecil Garrison and Evelyn May (Porter) Lane. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Judy Lou (Baldwin), who was raised in Westport, Wash.
William was a hard worker all of his life and a generous, giving man. It was not unusual for him to hold multiple jobs at a time to support his family. In his youth, William spent time as a migrant farm worker, picking fruit with his family and traveling all over the country.
At the family dinner table in Bay City, William often discussed religion and politics. He lectured his children on the importance of hard work and he shared interesting stories of the various types of jobs he had to help him get ahead in life and to help support his family. Among other things, William worked in the fields baling hay and he worked as a chicken sexer. He was a mill worker and he cut cedar shakes on the side after already having put in a full day’s work. He shoveled snow off roofs in the winter.
William joined the United States Marines and was stationed in Korea during the Korean War. He worked as a uranium miner for Kerr-McGee (Kermac Nuclear Fuels Corporation) in Grants, New Mexico. William was a hard rock miner and worked mines from Butte, Montana to the southwest. He was a driller and an explosives expert, and he was the inventor of the Lane Pump – a blast hole dewatering device that is still in production today. He was a manufacturer, and he owned and operated Bill Lane Drilling, Bill Lane Inc., and he also had a blasting publishing company, ABA Publishing Company, with his wife Judy.
William loved rocks. He could find beauty in even the plainest of minerals. A trick he would amaze his children and grandchildren with involved using a special black light to show a mineral’s fluorescence. He and his wife Judy retired and moved to the mining community of Kellogg, Idaho. His passion in retirement was the Crystal Gold Mine, which he and Judy created from an abandoned gold mine they found in Kellogg. William and Judy searched and finally found a mine they could develop into a tourist attraction, fulfilling one of his lifelong dreams. In Kellogg, they found a hillside that he discovered was an old abandoned and sealed gold mine where the walls had begun to crystallize – thus the name the Crystal Gold Mine. He and Judy worked hard and had a lot of fun running the Crystal Gold Mine together. And even today, the Crystal Gold Mine continues to be a successful and thriving tourist mine in the Silver Valley. Owning his own mine was the fulfillment of one of William’s life-long dreams. It was deeply satisfying to him, and his wife and family could not have been more proud of his achievements.
William loved escaping cold Idaho winters by traveling in his RV with Judy to the warm Arizona sunshine to find bargains to restock the mine’s gift shop. He loved fishing. He also loved to ride quads in the hills of Idaho where he would bait bears so that he could capture amazing pictures of them with his game cameras. William loved shooting guns and target practice. He loved being visited by his family and grandchildren and taking them bike riding on the Hiawatha Trail.
William also was preceded in death by his mother and father and by his stepfather Harold Wilkins; brothers Cecil, Robert, and John; and sister April.
William is survived by six daughters; Vonda Lee Mageary and Cathy Davis of Flagstaff, AZ; Nancy Atwood of Johns River, Wash; Rachael Benham of Bay City, Wash.; Robin Lane of Seattle, Wash.; Carmen Lane of Olympia, Wash.; and two sons, William K. Lane of Ocosta, Wash. and Grant (Guy) Lane of Thorne Bay, Alaska. He is also survived by numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren. William was a good, kind, and generous man. He loved his wife and family and appreciated good friends. He was deeply loved and appreciated in return. Certainly, he will be missed.
William battled cancer valiantly for a number of years, even when his beloved wife Judy became very sick. While Judy was in hospice care, William remained determined and strong and fiercely independent - insisting on driving himself to and from his cancer treatments. He was a fighter and he was a hero to his family. The cancer and complications that eventually took William from us was the result of his radiation exposure working for Kerr-McGee’s enriched uranium mining operations. William would want the world to know that. He was a proud American; however, he made it clear that he never quite forgave or since trusted his government, despite its acknowledgment of what happened during that time to so many people and despite the formal letter of apology he was sent regarding his exposure. William would often say to his family that he would much rather have his lungs back.
Something else William would want to share with people and to remind his family once again was his firm belief that politics and religion should be openly discussed and debated.
William believed strongly in paying it forward and in helping people who were less fortunate, but who were trying to help themselves. He explained to his family that he himself had been shown great kindness and offered a helping hand at very critical times in his life that then made a huge difference in his life’s trajectory. In explaining his belief in the importance of empathy and doing good for others, William often said, “There but by the Grace of God, go I.” William would urge the people he left behind to work hard, save for a rainy day, pursue your passions, seize the day, debate openly, be empathetic, be firm when you need to be, and show kindness when you can. And always pay it forward.
Cremation was held first and people notified afterward, per William’s request. There will be no services per his request. William was an avid supporter of local food banks. It was his request that if people wished to make some kind of a remembrance to him when he left this world and headed on his next adventure to the Great Beyond, to please donate generously and often to your local food bank.
The family wishes to thank the good people at Hospice House of North Idaho in Coeur d’Alene for their compassion and care. Yates Funeral Home and Crematory of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho was entrusted with final arrangements.