Edward Michael Lange

Ed was born in Albany, New York, on November 24, 1950, to the late Edward Joseph and Mary Elizabeth (“Dot”) Lange.

Ed was a proud member of the Christian Brothers Academy Class of 1969. He was a star guard, pitcher, and outfielder on the CBA basketball and baseball teams. He was recently elected to the CBA Sports Hall of Fame and looked forward to attending the induction ceremony this fall.

He graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1973. He attended the university on a baseball scholarship and also played basketball on the freshman team. He wore number 44, and many of you will recall seeing a green Jeep about town with an “ND44” license plate and Notre Dame wheel cover. Ed married Joanne (Hoffmeister) Lange in 1980. They have one son, Bradley Edward.

Ed began his career teaching at Christian Brothers Academy and coaching basketball at three different schools in the Albany area between 1975 and 1979. After moving to Jacksonville with his wife, he began teaching at Duncan U. Fletcher High School in 1983. He would teach and coach there for the next 32 years.

Ed taught history, civics, and philosophy, but focused primarily on building a renowned law-based elective program. He built a realistic courtroom on Hall B, and started a mock trial team. The trial team placed in the top 6 in the state 14 times, including 2 first place finishes (most recently in 2014) and 1 second place finish. He was recently named the Justice Teaching Institute Teacher of the Year by the Justices of the Florida Supreme Court; Justice Fred Lewis will present the award at the Florida Bar Convention in June. Other awards include the Jacksonville Bar Association Liberty Bell Award in 2003 and the Gladys Prior Award for Career Teaching Excellence in 1999.

He also coached boy’s golf, boy’s basketball, softball, swimming, baseball, girl’s basketball, and football. His teams won too many titles to recount, but he was especially proud to take the Lady Senators softball program to its first conference and district titles, that his golfers made the state finals more than once, and that the boy’s basketball team was state runner-up in 1993.

Beyond teaching and coaching, Ed was first and foremost a champion for any of his students who needed an advocate. There are no Halls of Fame, state championships, or trophies, but Ed will perhaps be remembered best for never refusing to help when he was asked or saw a need.

All of these pursuits were grounded in a deep love of life, family, and friends. Ed loved watching the Fighting Irish on Saturdays, DIY home improvement projects, happy hours and queso dip with his wife, and bragging to any and all about his son and daughter-in-law. He loved a good pool on a sunny day. He had recently taken up kayaking.