John Lane

John G. Lane of Mount Vernon, Iowa, passed from this life on December 26, 2018, at the age of 95. Mass of Christian Burial: 10 a.m. Saturday, December 29, 2018, at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Mount Vernon, by Rev. John R. Flaherty. Visitation: 3:30 ' 6:30 p.m. on Friday with a vigil service beginning at 3:30 p.m. Visitation also one hour prior to funeral at the church. Burial: following the funeral at Mount Vernon Cemetery. Arrangements with Stewart Baxter Funeral & Memorial Services, Mount Vernon. John was born August 15, 1923, in Cambridge, Massachusetts to Minnie (Bailey) and Howard Lane. John's parents moved to Mount Vernon in September 1923, where his father was Professor of English Literature at Cornell College for 35 years. John had a lifelong fondness for Cornell, having been raised on the campus and interacting with faculty and groundskeepers. Before joining the United States Marine Corp in June of 1944, where he served on Okinawa, John worked from 1942 to 1944 in Stratford, Connecticut at Chance Vought Aircraft helping to build defense planes for the war effort. He married Annice Harman of Lisbon, Iowa on May 28, 1942, at the First Congregational Church in Stratford, Connecticut. John and Annice were both converts to Catholicism; John in March 1946 on the island of Guam, and Annice in December 1946 in Colo, Iowa. They were married nearly 75 years. Following the end of World War II, John and Annice moved to Temple Hill, Iowa (rural Cascade) where they farmed for 41 years, most of those years with a Black Angus cow-calf operation. John became very active in the farm labor movement of the 50s and in particular with the National Farmers Union which he maintained interest and membership in the rest of his life. Beginning in 1959, and for the next 35 years, John worked with an international fundraising consulting firm, Community Counselling Service (CCS) headquartered in New York City. John is known in the firm as a pioneer in planning and conducting the first-ever large scale fundraising campaigns that were national and international in scope. Apart from professional and farm work, John possessed a tremendous gift for designing and making most anything from wood or iron, and became a skilled artist blacksmith. His creations adorn the homes of his family as well as his own. John was a devoted and loving husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather. In his later years, his oft-repeated statement of putting one's spouse and family before anything else will be most remembered, along with his quick wit and deep and genuine interest and care for the well-being of others. He is survived by eight children, Mary (Ray) Finn of Cascade; Patricia (Gordy) Anderson of Cedar Rapids, John (Jennifer) Lane of Vinton, Charles (Nancy) Lane of Muscatine, William (Lois) Lane of Swisher, Catherine (Gary) Eiben of Colesburg, Elizabeth (Allan) Takes of Cascade, Bernadette of Chicago, Illinois; 24 grandchildren; and 45 great grandchildren. Preceding him in death were his wife Annice; his parents; son, Thomas Michael Lane; granddaughter, Melissa Eiben; and daughter-in-law, Beth (Charlie) Lane. The family wishes to thank the team from Hospice of Mercy who provided excellent and loving care for John. Memorial gifts may be made to Hospice of Mercy or SE Linn Community Center Meals on Wheels.