[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 119 (Monday, August 9, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1542]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




A TRIBUTE IN HONOR OF THE LIFE OF AMBASSADOR LAWRENCE W. ``BILL'' LANE, 
                                  JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. ANNA G. ESHOO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, August 9, 2010

  Ms. ESHOO. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the extraordinary 
life of a distinguished Californian and proud American, Ambassador 
Lawrence W. ``Bill'' Lane Jr., a longtime resident of the 14th 
congressional district, who died on Saturday, July 31, 2010. Publisher, 
philanthropist, and public servant, he embodied the West's can-do 
spirit and sense of opportunity, devoting nine remarkable decades to 
his family, to the outdoors, to his community, and to his country.
  The former publisher of Sunset magazine, Bill fittingly left us in 
the evening, as the sun began to set over his beloved American West. 
Since moving from Iowa to California in 1928, Bill laid down deep roots 
in the region. He graduated from Stanford in 1942 with a degree in 
communications, and enlisted in the Navy shortly thereafter. Taking 
over the family business in 1961, Bill and his brother Mel turned 
Sunset into an iconic Western publication, producing thousands of 
practical articles and books on gardening, cooking, travel, and home 
improvements.
  Under Bill's guidance, Sunset became a leading voice for conservation 
and preservation. In 1969, the magazine published an expose on the 
impact of the pesticide DDT, and refused to run advertisements for 
garden products containing it. In an editorial, Bill wrote that 
``Sunset has been carrying more such advertising than any other general 
consumer publication, but we cannot reasonably continue to carry 
advertising pages extolling these products when our editorial pages 
recommend against their use.'' This principled decision cost Sunset 
millions in revenue and antagonized major corporations, but Wisconsin 
Senator Gaylord Nelson read the article into the Congressional Record, 
sparking a national debate that led to the elimination of the use of 
DDT.
  Bill Lane's longstanding love of state and national parks grew from a 
trip to the majestic Yosemite National Park when he was just nine years 
old. Soon, a teenaged Bill was working summers in Yosemite, delighting 
in calling the famous ``firefall'' over Glacier Point. A plaque at 
Glacier Point dedicates the mountain-top amphitheater and its stunning 
vistas to ``Bill Lane, Publisher, Statesman, Philanthropist, Champion 
of the National Parks,'' but Bill was proudest of his singular status 
as the only person designated an ``Honorary Ranger'' in state and 
federal parks. Nourished by his parks, Bill tirelessly promoted efforts 
to protect California's open spaces, seashores and wilderness areas.
  Recognizing the central role that his alma mater played in the West, 
Bill donated millions to Stanford and other organizations. He and his 
wife Jean helped establish the Jasper Ridge Environmental Research 
Station in the Stanford foothills, funded the Bill and Jean Lane 
Lecture series in Stanford's Creative Writing Program, and contributed 
to the restoration of the Red Barn Equestrian Center and Leland 
Stanford's Sacramento gubernatorial mansion. After the Loma Prieta 
Earthquake, Bill financed repairs to Memorial Church and the Main 
Quad's History Corner, which was renamed the Lane History Corner in his 
honor. In 2005, his $5 million endowment established Stanford's Bill 
Lane Center for the American West. Professor David M. Kennedy, co-
director of the Lane Center and a longtime friend of Bill's, called 
Bill the consummate ``man of the West,'' who ``enriched countless lives 
with his remarkably creative generosity.''
  As a lifelong ambassador of the West, Bill was chosen as Ambassador-
at-Large to Japan, and later served as Ambassador to Australia and 
Nauru wider Presidents Ford and Reagan. But for all his distinguished 
service in national capitals, Bill was perhaps most treasured locally. 
He was instrumental in the incorporation of Portola Valley in 1964, 
which elected him its first mayor. Bill resigned after 20 minutes, 
declaring that he had things to do. He served as vice-mayor instead, 
driving to Town Council meetings well into his advanced years, and 
playing Santa Claus at the Ladera Shopping Center for two decades.
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in extending our 
deepest sympathies to Bill Lane's family. He is survived by his wife 
Jean; children Robert Lane, Sharon Lane, and Brenda Munks and her 
husband Greg; five grandchildren; and the natural spaces he did so much 
to protect. A force of nature on behalf of nature, a conservationist 
who refused to conserve any of his energies advocating causes in which 
he believed, Bill did his best to preserve the West's wide open spaces, 
even as he filled them with his compassion, his civic engagement, and 
his booming laugh. The West will feel emptier without him, but our 
country is stronger, cleaner, and more beautiful because of him.

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