Darlene Kay Lane

Darlene, 81, passed away peacefully in her sleep in the early morning of August 11th, 2024. She fought the valiant battle against Diabetes and its complications for 40 years, only to be diagnosed with Dementia in her last years.

Darlene was born January 6th, 1943, to John (Jack) and Sadie (Voehl) Henning, in Franklin, Nebraska. She was the fourth child and first daughter. When she was a toddler, the family loaded up the farm truck and moved to the Terrace Heights area of Yakima, Washington by way of Twin Cities, Idaho. After graduating from Moxee High School, Darlene briefly attended Concordia College, before starting her family. It was at this time that Darlene began her life-long career of working in the banking industry.

In mid-1966, while working at Yakima Federal Savings, Darlene noticed a young man who worked for the armored transport company delivering money to banks. His name was Richard Lane, and she was smitten. They soon began dating and in less than a year, they were married. Their love was strong and lasted for 48 years, until Rick passed away in 2015. Together, they raised four independent and diverse children, whom she was very proud of.

When her children were young, Darlene worked as a para teacher at John Campbell Elementary School in Selah, Washington. This made sure she was ready for anything her children needed after school, be it taking someone to practice, music lessons, or being home with them. Darlene helped students with significant disabilities, including those who were medically fragile, who needed to develop basic communication and skills for participating in daily support routines. This time taught her children the very important lesson of treating everyone with respect, that people may be different but they’re all the same, and to accept everyone with disabilities.

In 1980, the Lane family moved from Selah to Olympia for Rick’s promotion, which gave him more time to spend with the family. Shortly after moving to Olympia, Darlene started her career with Olympia Federal Savings, starting at the main branch downtown and then becoming the Branch Manager at their Lacey branch for many years. She retired after working at Olympia Federal for over 25 years.

When Rick retired, they found the joys of time-share and began traveling often. Rick and Darlene’s favorite place to go was the Oregon Coast, and they went several times a year to watch the storms roll in down in the Depoe Bay area. The grandchildren visited the Grandparents so often at the beach that they believed Grandma and Grandpa lived AT the beach. Every afternoon, you would find Rick and Darlene taking their long beach walks and returning with their pockets full of shells they found.

Being a Lutheran was extremely important to Darlene, and she instilled this faith into her children at a very young age. For most of her kids’ lives, she was a Sunday School teacher. While going to Central Lutheran Church in Yakima, Rick and Darlene were dual Sunday School teachers and youth counselors, showing the teens that growing their faith could be fun and interesting. They would open their house to visiting youth groups and choirs and make them feel welcome.

When the family moved to Olympia, the family found The Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd and became involved. Rick and Darlene once again became Sunday School teachers and involved in the church. Upon retirement, Darlene became a quintessential “Church Lady”, spending most of her time volunteering at church. She was a member of the Piece Corp, often taking quilts home to tie them. She belonged to the Lydia Circle. With her banking knowledge, Darlene volunteered to help could the Sunday offerings. She loved being a greeter or usher, always greeting people with a smile. She helped with memorial services and setting up communion services. She enjoyed taking communion to people who couldn’t come to church, making sure to spend time with those to make them feel special. She may have been quiet, but she was always involved in some way. She was dependable and someone who could be counted on to help with whatever needed to be done.

Nothing was more important to Darlene than her kids. She was their biggest cheerleader and supporter in anything they wanted to pursue. She made it a point to attend most all their practices and games, cheering the whole team on. She would do anything for them, giving up a lot while making sure they were taken care of. When the grandchildren and great-grandchildren came into her life, she was overjoyed to be able to spoil them rotten. By the grace of God, as her dementia progressed, Darlene never forgot who her kids were, which was such a blessing.

Darlene always had a way of making you feel like you were her favorite when you were with her. She encouraged you to do more without being overbearing and always wanted you to be your own person. She loved to say she raised four very independent people, who could take care of themselves and others. When you needed a person to cry to, Darlene was always there. Likewise, if you needed someone to be excited or understanding, she was there – Darlene always made time, no matter what else she was doing. Darlene gave the best hugs – firm and genuine with a whisper of how much she loved you. Her grand daughters loved Grandma’s hugs, as they were the tightest, strongest, most loving hugs ever. She always had the strongest embrace and the sweetest hugs. Her laugh was like her hugs, infectious and genuine, warm and loving.

Her daughter, Joyce, believes that Darlene made her want to be a better person. Whenever she found herself being too sarcastic, too judgmental or too self-consumed, Mom would bring her back to center, not through words but through Mom’s actions.

One of the biggest traits her daughter, Jill, took away from Mom was her love of helping others. All her life, Darlene willingly volunteered her time to those groups and people she was passionate about, and the joy it gave her. The Bible encourages volunteering as an act of service and love for others, and Darlene epitomized 1 John 3:18: “Let us not know love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.”

Darlene really enjoyed the time she spent at Evergreen Haven Adult Family Home for the last 3 ½ months of her life. She was so grateful to live in such a wonderful place. The Lane family is forever grateful for the love and care Darlene received there.

Darlene has been laid to rest with Rick in their Rock at Mills Memorial Park, 5725 Littlerock Road SW, Tumwater WA 98512.

Darlene is going to be dearly missed by everyone she touched, but especially by her family and friends.

A Celebration of Life for Darlene will be held Saturday, September 28, 2024 from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM at The Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, 1601 North Street SE, Olympia, WA 98501.

Contributions in Darlene's memory may be made to The Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, 1601 North Street SE, Olympia, Washington 98501 US, https://www.gsolympia.org/donate.