In Memoriam

Bradford W. Lane

Brad Lane died on January 25, 2022. Here is his obituary and, below that, the essay he wrote for our 50th Reunion Book.

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Obituary

Westchester Funeral Home, Eastchester, NY

Bradford W. Lane of Bedford, NY, formerly of Crestwood and Tuckahoe NY and Fort Lauderdale, FL, died on January 25, 2022 at the age of 80.

Brad was born on September 17, 1941 in New York, NY to John W. Lane and L. Bertice (Tache) Lane. Brad is survived by beautiful long-time companion Marian Donnelly, his beloved daughter Erica D. Mortati (Lane) and her husband Thomas J. Mortati, sister-in-law Carolyn Van Ness, niece Radha Devi (Kimberly Lane), and Patricia Hornbeck from a previous marriage. He is predeceased by his beloved daughter, Christine W. Lane, his parents, John W. Lane and L. Bertice (Tache) Lane, his brother Whitney L. Lane, and his nephew Craig A. Lane.

Brad attended Roosevelt High School in Yonkers and graduated from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut where he studied and graduated with a degree in economics. This was followed by duty with the United States Marine Corps, Semper Fi. He worked as a sales director for his entire career with Thomas Publishing Company in New York, New York. He retired in 2006 and flourished in his retirement!

Brad acquired a passion for cooking in his retirement driven by his passion to enjoy great food! And he was very good at it (both, actually)! He will be remembered and missed by so many. He had a great sense of humor, loved to laugh and connect with people, and was always positive about every situation. He had an uncanny ability to find pleasure and beauty in any situation. His joy for life was contagious and he really enjoyed his friendships, his relationship with his family, and connecting with other people.

Calling hours at the Westchester Funeral Home, 190 Main St., Eastchester, are between the hours of 4 to 7 pm Thursday, February 3, 2022 with a memorial service to be held at 6:30 pm (February 3, 2022) that will be available to be viewed live online. A private family burial will be held at the Newton Cemetery on Friday at 2 pm in Newton, MA.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made in memory of Bradford Lane to Semper Fi and America’s Fund.

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Essay, 50th Reunion Book

by Brad Lane

May 2014

My tale is that of a common man. Upon graduation I got a job as a sales rep with a wholesale lumber broker, Lawrence R. McCoy in Worcester, MA. I married an English girl, Patricia Kane, served in USMC Reserves, finishing as a corporal and with the anxiety about serving in Vietnam. I fathered two daughters. I got fired, learning that I made a poor sales representative and didn’t know much about lumber retailing.

I got another job, with Thomas Publishing Co., publisher of the Thomas Register of American Manufacturers, where for 39 years I worked as a sales service manager and later as the sales data manager. I provided market research and support, and tracked sales performance and managed incentive programs, at one point totaling over $1 million, for a sales force of 350-400 representatives. My previous job gave me a valuable realistic appreciation of what it really takes to be a salesman. I retired in 2006.

It was a good decision. During my years at Thomas I was on the team that helped build sales forty-fold. I left on a high note, at my own choosing after helping the company integrate two sales forces into one unified group, thus leaving me free to tend to some long overlooked health issues.

I got divorced; after seven years it wasn’t working. As a mid-thirties single with a lower paying job, I learned thrift.

My youngest daughter, Christine, had Type 1 Diabetes. She struggled with it for 17 years and died of complications at the age of 22. It was my chance to be the rock of the family and help her to die “well.”

In 1978 I bought a TRS-80 Radio Shack personal computer. I loved it. Over the next year and a half I spent 200-300 hours learning to program it. Then, in 1981 I became the first Thomas employee to have a personal computer in the office. It transformed my job for the better and served me well for the next 25 years.

At age 36 and again at 47, I’d had heart attacks. When I was 46 I discovered I had Type 2 Diabetes. In 2007, I met the inimitable Dr. Oz who performed my cardiac double bypass operation and in 2008 I received an implantable defibrillator. If you include the replacement mitral valve, two cataract implants, and assorted repairs, I am truly a “bionic man.”

I met Marian in 1979. Both divorced, we decided to forgo marriage in favor of companionship, which has lasted for 34 years. We maintained separate residences 20 miles apart for 27 years while I worked in NYC. And then I moved in to her home in Bedford, NY after I retired. We also share a Florida co-op in Fort Lauderdale, where we winter for 5-6 months each year. Nice life. We have traveled around the US, Hawaii, the Caribbean, and to Europe. In short, I survived with good spirits intact.

Hope you all are well.