Vance Earl Lane

Vance Lane, 98, died at his home on April 26, 2008. He was born June 30, 1909, in Woonsocket, S.D., to Louis L. and Ella Sanborn Lane.

Vance had a very colorful career in the entertainment business as a radio personality. He was an announcer for country western stations KFWB, KECA, KGER and KMPC in Los Angeles. He was called a “Radio Cowpuncher.” He had such friends at Gene Autry, Tex Ritter, Ernest Tubb, Jimmy Wakeley, Merle Travis, Smiley Burnette and Spade Cooley to name just a few. His “Musical Roundups” were known far and wide. He was known to have said, “I’ve done a lot of things – but none of them was so doggone much fun as this radio cowpunchin’!”

In 1948, Vance helped to create the Western Hall of Fame, dedicated to the historical west and to the memory of the cowboys past, present and future. The advisory board was a Who’s Who of country western history; such names as Gene Autry, Bill Boyd, Andy Devine, Hoot Gibson and Roy Rogers are among the better known.

In 1932, he married Lucille Preston who was a school teacher and later a principal in the Los Angeles School District. They moved to Whidbey Island in 1968 when he retired from radio work in California. He became involved in the community, particularly in the radio club. He had been a ham radio operator for many years. Lucille and Vance were married for 59 years before her death in 1991.

In 2003, Vance married his companion of many years, Jane. They traveled and enjoyed island living in their Oak Harbor home.

Vance is survived by his second wife, Iris (Jane) Robinson Lane, along with a stepdaughter and four grandchildren, as well as numerous nieces and nephews around the country. At his request, there will be no public service for Vance; rather, there will be a private family gathering and a scattering of his ashes on the waters surrounding his beloved Whidbey Island. Arrangements were entrusted to Burley Funeral Chapel, Oak Harbor.