Barbara M. Lane

Barbara Lane slipped away peacefully to join her beloved husband, Allie Lane, at age 91 on Wednesday, January 6. She was born on February 12, 1924 in Lakeland, Florida to George and Louise Moseley. She grew up there and graduated from Lakeland High School. On a blind date she met Allie Lane, then a student at Washington and Lee University, and they fell in love. World War II intervened, and he served as a Marine Captain in the Pacific. They married in 1946, and he continued through W&L Law School while she worked to support them. After law school they lived in Richmond, Virginia where she worked at the Federal Reserve; she often told that she got to "hold a million dollars in her hands." The Korean War then began, and Allie was called up early as an officer. As a result, their only son, Brent Lane, was born at Camp LeJeune, North Carolina in 1951. Barbara and Allie then moved back to Polk County, where he took the bar exam and joined Clarence Boswell in his practice, which later became Boswell and Lane. They have lived in Bartow since that time. She managed the home front through his career as a Circuit Judge, and finally as a partner with Lane Trohn in Lakeland, now Grey Robinson. Barbara was active in Bartow, especially in the Garden Club, Cub Scouts and numerous civic activities. For most of her adult life, she would "rather be fishing", and would never leave the house without tackle in the trunk in case the chance to wet a hook arose. She was a natural caregiver from her early life, caring for her younger sister and later his and her parents, and then Allie in his final years. She was fiercely dedicated to her family and friends, and would do anything to help, day or night. Barbara had remarkable curiosity about the world and a will to live on her terms. She was able to live by herself in their home until her passing in spite of her diminished size and physical limitations, thanks in no small part to her wonderful caregivers, Frances Holder and Cindy Jackson, as well as loving and supportive neighbors including Jane Laurent, James Clements and Diane Weld Ashley. She was preceded in death by her parents and by her husband, Allie Hartsfield Lane. She is survived by her son, Brent Moseley Lane, her daughter-in-law, Cynthia Swaney Lane, her grandson, Jonathan Logan Lane, her sister, Jeanne Moseley Reavis of Fairfield, California, and three nieces and a nephew. A visitation will be held at Whidden-McLean Funeral Home in Bartow on Friday, January 15 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Services will be held at First United Methodist Church in Bartow on Saturday, January 16 at 11:00 a.m. Internment will be with her husband Allie Lane at Wildwood Cemetery in Bartow. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts can be made to First United Methodist Church, 310 South Broadway, Bartow, FL 33830. Condolences at www.whiddenmcleanfuneralhome.com