Richard 'Dick' Lane

Mr. Richard “Dick” Gautier Lane of Sharpsburg passed away November 1, 2015. He is survived by his wife, Betty Lane of Sharpsburg; children, Milinda “Mindy” French and her husband Kelly of Hapeville; Laurie Cook and Michael Blackwell of LaGrange; Richard “Rick” Paul Lane and his wife Melissa of Sharpsburg; sister, Norma Goecke of Roswell; grandchildren, Kristin and Daniel McCoy, Kane French, Kyle Cook, Kase Cook, Dalton Lane, Bailey Lane, Riley Lane; great grandchildren, Colton McCoy, Maci McCoy and Daisy McCoy. Funeral services will be held Thursday, November 5, 2015 at 2 o’clock at the Chapel of Parrott Funeral Home with Dr. George Dillard officiating. Interment to follow at Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens. Those wishing may sign the online guestbook at www.parrottfuneralhome.com. The family will receive friends Wednesday evening from 5:00 until 8:00 p.m. at Parrott Funeral Home and Crematory. 770-964-4800. Mr. Lane was highly regarded in the community as a politician, a family man, and held numerous accolades for his athletic accomplishments. As a young man, he was the youngest player to ever start a varsity football game under Wally Butts at the University of Georgia at the age of 16. He also broke the state record for the 100 yard dash and held the title for several years. After 2 years at UGA, he left to serve his country in WWII as a sailor aboard the USS Hornet. Upon returning home, he earned honors such as: Runner up “MR. Georgia” in 1948 and Georgia State Karate Champion in 1964 as a 2nd degree Black Belt. Sport and Athletics were prominent in his life as he also served as the Superintendent of Parks and Recreation in East Point, GA, for almost 3 decades. As a member of the Georgia State House of Representatives, he passed 160 bills that became laws and 14 constitutional amendments in his 28 years of service. Many of his recognizable bills saved countless lives such as the Seatbelt law, the bicycle helmet law, and the law requiring commercial buildings and residential dwellings to have smoke detectors. He wrote numerous bills with the interest of his community and state at heart such as the Smoke Free Workplace bill, the Spay and Neuter your Pets Campaign, and wrote a bill that will keep Hartsfield Jackson International Airport from ever being sold to a foreign investor. Dick Lane will be missed by his family, his colleagues, and the people of his community that he worked so diligently to serve.