Hal B. Lane Jr., age 86, of Brownwood went to his eternal home with his Lord and Savior on Friday, September 27, 2019.
Graveside Services for Hal will be held at 10:00 a.m. Monday, September 30, 2019, at the Richland Springs Cemetery with Sterling Lentz officiating. A Memorial Service will follow at 2:00 p.m. at First Christian Church in Brownwood with Sterling Lentz officiating.
Visitation will be held Sunday afternoon from 3 to 5 p.m. at Blaylock Funeral Home. Arrangements are under the direction of Blaylock Funeral Home of Brownwood.
Hal was born on September 29, 1932, to Hal Sr. and Bertie (Cade) Lane in San Angelo. He graduated from Richland Springs High School in 1950. He then attended North Texas State University; graduating in 1954 with a bachelor’s degree.
After graduation he joined the United States Air Force and was stationed at Chanute A.F.B. in Rantoul, IL, where he was an instructor in the Weather Observer School. There he met Margaret Reigert; the two married in 1956. Soon after they married, they moved to Denton where Hal taught for four years and also received his master’s degree from North Texas State University in 1960.
In 1960, they moved to Brownwood and Hal started teaching mathematics at Howard Payne College, now Howard Payne University. Hal spent nearly four decades serving Howard Payne University as a professor and faculty athletic representative. He was a long-time advocate for the university and the student-athlete both in and out of the arena of competition.
Mr. Lane served as HPU’s faculty athletic representative from 1970 to 1996, during which HPU saw great success in athletic competition and in the classroom.
He played a key role in HPU’s athletics’ transition from a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) institution to a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II school and eventually to the NCAA Division III.
Along with his responsibilities as the Howard Payne faculty athletic representative, Hal would also serve as the President of the Lone Star Conference for two years and as the conference’s Vice President for three.
He worked as the eligibility chairman for the Lone Star Conference and also represented the NCAA Division II on a joint committee of NCAA and NAIA schools.
For his commitment to serving Howard Payne University athletics, it is with great pride and appreciation that Howard Payne University inducted Hal Lane Jr. into the Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.
Hal was a big sports fan, especially liked following Texas Christian University and Howard Payne University. He loved raising cattle at the family farm in San Saba county and wood working. In his later years, he enjoyed feeding the ducks at Riverside Park and going to the Spillway at Lake Brownwood.
Hal is survived by his loving wife of 63 years, Margaret Lane of Brownwood; daughter, Linda Lane of Brownwood; two sons, Hal B. Lane III and wife Cynthia of Bulverde, Robert Lane and wife Lenora of Brownwood; grandchildren, William Lane Koepp and Kimberly Lanet Koepp; and great-grandchildren, Kristofer Nethaniel Koepp and Branson Lane Koepp-Cox. He is also survived by other family members and friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Hal Sr. and Bertie Lane; sister, Gwendolyn Bowen; and great-granddaughter, Aleesa Jade Koepp.
In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to Richland Springs Cemetery Association (P.O. Box 294, Richland Springs, Texas 76871) or First Christian Church (2411 Coggin Ave. Brownwood, Texas 76801). Online condolences for the family are welcome at www.blaylockfuneralhome.com.
