Thomas G. Lane papers

Thomas G. Lane, a native of Charlotte, North Carolina, was born on May 16, 1921, to Thomas G. Lane, senior and Orabella Rogan Lane. Tom’s parents sent him to a private boarding school in Owings Mills, Maryland—the McDonogh School. He later matriculated through Hampden-Sydney College and the University of North Carolina Law School, where he earned a J.D. degree. During World War II, Lane served on active duty with the US Navy Reserve. On H hour on D-Day, he piloted landing craft that carried tanks and infantry to Omaha beach at Normandy, during the thickest fighting. Later in the war, he brought the USS LSM 425 back to the Port of Seattle from the Marianas for decommissioning in 1946. It was while he was in Seattle that he met and later married Mary Caroline Stahlberg. After finishing law school, Lane returned to Charlotte, North Carolina with his wife, where he starting practicing law. From 1949 to 1953, Lane worked as the Solicitor of the Charlotte City Recorders Court, and the Judge Pro tem of that court from 1957 to 1958. From 1955 to 1983 he served as the Public Administrator of Mecklenburg County. In 1961 he formed a legal practice with H. Parks Helms, until 1988, when he retired. Lane was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha and Phi Alpha Delta fraternities. He was an active member of the Myers Park Presbyterian Church since he joined in 1933. He served as a deacon, an elder, Sunday school teacher and president of the Men’s Bible Class, and was active with the visitation program. He also volunteered at the Presbyterian Hospital, was a member of the Sharon Civitan Club, the Charlotte Rotary Club, the Olde Providence Racket Club, the Mecklenburg Historical Association, Hugh Torance House and Store, Inc., the Museum of the New South, the Olde Mecklenburg Genealogical Society and the Navajo Club. Lane was also active with the American Cancer Society, the American Diabetes Association, and the United Way. Lane died on Sunday, July 1, 2007 at Carolinas Medical Center, in Charlotte.