Ross Eugene Lane

Ross Eugene Lane, age 90 of Baldwin City, KS passed away peacefully on August 29th, 2023 with his family by his side.  

The visitation and funeral mass will be on Wednesday, September 6, 2023 at Annunciation Catholic Church, 740 North 6th Street, Baldwin City, KS. A Rosary will be said at 9:30 AM, followed by a visitation from 10:00 AM with the Funeral Mass, that will begin at 11:00 AM. 

Ross was born November 24, 1932 to Curtis and Beatrice Lane in Leoti, Kansas. Ross attended elementary school and high school in Leoti graduating from Wichita County High School with the class of 1952. Ross played football, basketball and track at Leoti but his best sport by far was basketball. He loved basketball and enjoyed the days when three of his sons were all high school basketball coaches in Kansas. 

After high school, Ross served his country during the Korean War from 1953 to 1955. Following his military service Ross worked for his brother, Robert (Dutch) Lane who owned a construction company. 

Ross married his sweetheart, Mary Kathleen Renner (Kathy), on October 19, 1957 at Saint Joseph Catholic Church in Scott City, KS and they were able to raise 4 boys and celebrate 65 years together. 

In 1963 Ross accepted a job with the Leoti USD 467 School District where he became the Director of Buildings and Grounds. Ross served USD 467 until 1976 when he became the Director of Facilities at Baker University. Ross loved his job at Baker where he spent the next 20 years before retiring in 1996. 

Ross loved working with and coaching his boys. Some of his best memories were coaching the Black Caps little league baseball team in Leoti. Ross also coached Junior and Senior Babe Ruth baseball when the family moved to Baldwin in 1976. After Ross retired, he loved spending time with his wife and family and their cabin at Lone Star Lake. It was his happy place and our family gathering place for many years and Dad made it special. He was a grill master and the meals he prepared are legendary. Ross also loved spending time at the Baldwin Golf course where he mowed and showed off his grilling expertise for men’s night and tournaments. He never missed one of his boy’s ballgames. He walked the sidelines in football and was always there to cheer us on. 

Ross treasured his friendships and teammates from his days in Leoti. He played on a great team his senior year and could still name off the starting five until the end. He was a proud Jayhawk and never missed a KU basketball game. He also loved the many people in Baldwin who worked for him at Baker during his 20 years as Head of Facilities. He was a proud member of Annunciation Catholic Church in Baldwin City and served in the Knights of Columbus.

Ross is survived by his wife Kathy who is in Ottawa, Kansas at Rock Creek Assisted Living. Ross and Kathy were blessed with 4 sons; Mike (Denise) Lane, grandson Matt, granddaughter Kayley, and great granddaughters Lucy & Katie; Russ (Annette) Lane, grandson Tyler (Jami) Lane and great grandson Carter, great granddaughters Hannah and Lauren, granddaughter Jessica (Ross) Knutson and great granddaughter Sloan and great grandsons Cohen and Landon, granddaughter Samantha (Bo) Tiller and great granddaughter Rosalie, granddaughter Abigail (Tanner) Hughes and great granddaughter June; Rob (Nancy) Lane and granddaughters Jordan and Teresa and Grant (Lori) Lane, grandsons Jaylen, Jaron and Joseph and granddaughter Jocelyn (Tom) Mailloux and great grandson Leo. Ross is also survived by his older sister Nevada Parker of Leoti, Kansas.

Ross was predeceased by his parents Curtis and Beatrice Lane and siblings Blythe (Leonard) Tripp, Lois (Wayne) Funk, Margaret (Gene) Kirk, Robert (Lottie) Lane, Thomas (Leatrice) Lane, bother-in- law James Parker, Kathryn (Wayne) Roberts and a granddaughter Kimber Rose Lane who passed away on January 10, 2021.

The Lane family would like to thank the many nurses and caregivers who have cared for our Dad these last five years. Vintage Park in Baldwin and Rock Creek in Ottawa have been very kind to our family. Memorial contributions may be made to the Mother Teresa Charitable Trust sent in care of Lamb-Roberts-Price Funeral Home, P.O. Box 64, Baldwin City, KS, 66006. Online condolences may be sent to the family through www.lamb-roberts.com.

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