[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 5980]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF HUNTER LANE, JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. STEVE COHEN

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, April 27, 2012

  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the life and 
legacy of Hunter Lane, Jr., a volunteer, attorney and political leader 
who dedicated his career to improving government and promoting civil 
rights. Born in Memphis, TN on July 6, 1929, Hunter attended Central 
High School in Memphis, where he earned outstanding recognition in 
academics and also as the quarterback of the football team. After high 
school, he attended Washington and Lee University in Lexington, VA on 
an academic scholarship, graduating in 1951 magna cum laude. He earned 
his law degree from Washington and Lee in 1953. Mr. Lane entered the 
U.S. Marine Corps as an Officer Candidate in 1953 and served as a legal 
officer in the Republic of Korea and Japan. Though released from active 
duty in 1955, he continued to serve with various units of the Marine 
Corps Reserve until he retired as Lt. Col. in 1978.
  Mr. Lane's involvement with the community began when he was elected 
Commissioner of Public Service in 1964, a position he held for the next 
three years. He was a leading advocate for a progressive agenda that 
ultimately led to the city's conversion from the commission system to a 
strong mayor and city council local government model. He served on the 
Board of Education from 1972 to 1975, where he promoted the 
desegregation of public facilities. Hunter was very active with the 
Civil Rights Movement in Memphis and worked diligently in many behind 
the scenes activities with renowned civil rights attorney Lucius Burch, 
who represented Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in a successful attempt to 
lift an injunction against a planned march in support of the striking 
workers in the Memphis Sanitation Strike. He then served as Director of 
the Memphis Better Schools Committee from 1976 to 1979.
  Hunter dedicated a great deal of time to performing volunteer work. 
He worked as a volunteer mentor at the Memphis City Schools for many 
years and mentored children at the Dream Academy for several years. He 
also volunteered at the Community Legal Center after his retirement, 
helping people who could not afford an attorney. For most of his adult 
life, he was a member of the Downtown Kiwanis Club, a service 
organization dedicated to helping the children of our community.
  An avid outdoorsman, Hunter was a lifelong member of the Wolf River 
Society and a supporter of the Wolf River Conservancy, a nonprofit 
group dedicated to the protection and enhancement of the Wolf River 
corridor and watershed as a sustainable natural resource. He was an 
active member of a canoe club and enjoyed canoe trips on the rivers of 
Arkansas and Missouri. As a member of the Grey Eagles Hiking Club, he 
climbed many mountains in the U.S. and Canada during his retirement. 
His passion for travel took him on trips with his wife, Susan, to 49 of 
the 50 states and to countries on five continents.
  Hunter was a lifelong member of Idlewild Presbyterian Church, where 
he served on the Board of Elders from 1978 to 2012. He supported the 
University of Memphis football and basketball programs as a member of 
the High Hundred and the Rebounders Club.
  Hunter Lane, Jr. passed away on April 22, 2012 at 82 years of age. He 
is survived by his loving wife, Susan; three children, Dorothy Lane 
McClure, James Hunter Lane III, and William Martin Lane; two stepsons, 
Charles Michael Bowen and Robert Kenneth Bowen; four grandchildren, and 
two stepgrandchildren. His was a life well lived.

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