M. Donald Lane Jr., 97

October 12, 2017

Martin Donald Lane Jr., 97, died peacefully on October 12, 2017 at the Willow Valley Retirement Communities.

Mr. Lane (known as “Don”) was born in Wilmington, DE on June 1, 1920, to Caroline E. H. (Angerstein) Lane and Martin Donald Lane Sr. He and his younger brother David Seffers Lane grew up in Kingston, NY. Mr. Lane served his country as a Marine fighter pilot in the Pacific during World War II, and he attained the rank of major before his honorable discharge in 1952. He attended Cornell University, graduating from the five-year Bachelor of Architecture program in four years, and winning the 1946 Charles Goodwin Sands Memorial Medal.

After the war, Mr. Lane was briefly married to Eleanor Gertrude Newell, with whom he had a daughter, Evelyn Carol Lane (b. August 20, 1948). In 1951, he married his second wife, Carolyn Elsie Blocker, with whom he had a son, Jay Donald Lane (b. December 29, 1965). Cal and Don remained married until her death in 1993.

Mr. Lane was a modernist architect and interior designer. He worked mainly in Poughkeepsie, NY, where he started his own firm. He designed both commercial and residential buildings in and around Dutchess County, NY, including a dormitory for Marist College, numerous bank branches, and his own homes in Salt Point, NY and Groton, CT.

After his wife’s death in Groton, CT, Don moved first to San Rafael, CA, and then to Stuart, FL, before settling at Willow Valley in Lancaster PA. He was known to his friends as a quiet, kind man, with liberal political views and a lively sense of humor.

The memorial will be private. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be sent to the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, (www.marineheritage.org or 800-397-7585), or the charity of the donor’s choice.