Washington - James Joseph Lane III, M.D. was born on November 21, 1929, in Three Forks, Montana, the son of Kathleen Murphy Lane and James Joseph Lane II. He had three wonderful sisters: Mary Batchelder (Bruce), Phyllis McCormick (William), and Susan Heahlke (Howard). He was happily married to the love of his life, Susanna McPherson Lane, his travel partner and best friend for over 67 years. His three children, Jim Lane (Kim), Margaret Lane (Steven Caplow), and Mary Jo O'Donnell (John), will always remember his deep kindness. He was an inspiration to his eight grandchildren: Lane Katherine O'Donnell, Jordan Marie Muffoletto (Matthew), John Routt O'Donnell Jr, Hugo Gray Caplow, Margo Joyce Lane, Elizabeth Ann O'Donnell, James Conner Lane, and Emil McPherson Caplow who all have inherited his love of travel and adventure.

Jim attended grades one through twelve in Three Forks at a red brick schoolhouse where he walked upstairs for high school. He played six-man football, and his favorite teacher was Ivan Doig's aunt. Doig later became one of his favorite Montana authors. His good friends were Tom, Leo, and Robert Lane, Dick Morgan, and Bill Doty. Jim's dad owned the City Meat Market, and Jim, at age nine, frequently helped in the butcher shop and drove a shop truck as needed at twelve.

At the urging of a nurse in Three Forks who cared for him after a serious hand injury he applied to Northwestern University and soon was riding the train to Chicago, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1951 in pre-medical studies. Jim sent his laundry all the way back to Montana by train, and the hamper arrived a week later in Chicago full of cookies and pies. After college, he pursued his lifelong passion of becoming a medical doctor at the University of Washington, where he earned his M.D. in 1955 and, more importantly, met Susanna McPherson. Jim was awarded the senior psychiatry prize, and later, during his internship and residency, he rotated under Anna Freud (daughter of Sigmund Freud).

Jim spent forty years at The Polyclinic in Seattle, where his nurses, patients, and colleagues were like an extended family. Jim cared for many clergy and religious and was honored by Pope John Paul II with the "Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Award" in recognition of his service to the church. When he retired in 2000, several patients established the James J Lane MD Endowed Lecture Series at the University of Washington Medical School, which continues today.

Before starting his practice, Jim was a clinical instructor at the University of Washington. During his career, he was active with the Seattle Arthritis Foundation and the King County Medical Society. He was a member of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher, the Arboretum Foundation, and a Parishioner at Our Lady of Fatima and later St. James Cathedral.

Jim was known for his generosity, mentorship to colleagues, and gentle demeanor. He loved parties, cars, music, travel, architecture, and literature, often reading mysteries late into the night. A true Irish gentleman, he was warm, approachable, a good listener, and full of common sense. He could walk through a museum in record time and was known for saying, "That will be fine," and it usually was. Jim's bedside manner, charm, diagnostic skills, and early calling to serve others made him an exceptional physician and human. One of Jim's favorite quotations about life was, "Everyone needs something to do, someone to love, and something to look forward to." He was loved by all and will be missed by many.

A service will be held on May 31 at St. James Cathedral at 12:10 pm.

Memorial donations can be given to:

University of Washington Department of Medicine

Division of Rheumatology - The Lane Lecture

https://rheumatology.uw.edu/about/philanthropy/lane

Campus Box 356428

1959 NE Pacific Street

Seattle, WA 98195

The James J. Lane & Susanna M. Lane Scholarship

https://www.forestridge.org/alumni/alumni-giving/scholarships

Forest Ridge School

4800 - 139th Avenue South East

Bellevue, WA 98006