John Irwin Lane, 89, of Norwalk, Ohio, died sadly after contracting COVID-19 while residing at the Ohio Veterans Home in Sandusky, Ohio where he had been in the memory care unit for the past two years. John was born in Oil City, Pennsylvania (PA) on August 11, 1931, the son of the late Homer and Mary (Woodruff) Lane. He graduated from Franklin High School in Franklin, PA in 1948 and worked and lived at the local YMCA during his junior and senior high school years. John was drafted into the United States Army 25th Infantry Division (Tropic Lightning) during the Korean Conflict against Communist China, serving in combat from 1953-1954.

He was a life-time member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Norwalk Post 2753. John's life-long work was as a utility lineman. He was first employed as a lineman by Henkels and McCoy in western Pennsylvania, and after his military service, returned to the same company, but this time working out of Bowling Green, Ohio. He worked for the City of Norwalk Electric for 17 years and retired from the Ohio Edison Company as a leader lineman in 1993 after 27 years of service. He was a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). John was an avid Ohio State Buckeyes football fan and was known for his appreciation of big band and jazz music and his favorite singer, Tony Bennett, Rolling Rock beer (when still in Latrobe, PA) and the former Shamrock Tavern in Norwalk, Ohio. Those closest to him know the great pride he took in keeping his cars impeccably clean, sometimes to the chagrin of his family.

John is survived by his loving wife of nearly 65 years, Shirley (Sherman), and their four children: sons Michael (Lisa) and Steven (Karen) of Norwalk, Ohio, and daughters Linda (Karl Sutter) and Lisa of Columbus, Ohio; sister Peg McFate of Oil City, PA, as well as several nieces and nephews.

In addition to his parents, he is preceded in death by sister Joanne Robison, brother William F. Lane, and sister-in-law Mardelle Shively.

Private services will be held for the immediate family with no public services planned at this time.  Online expressions of sympathy to the family may be made by visiting: www.walkereastmanheydingerfh.com .  In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in John's memory to one of the following (or the donor's choice): Salvation Army (https://neo.salvationarmy.org/northeastohio/norwalk), Wounded Soldiers (https://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/) or National Alzheimer's Association (https://www.alz.org/).

Wounded Warrior Project
4899 Belfort Road, Suite 300, Jacksonville FL 32256

The Salvation Army
55 Whittlesey Ave, Norwalk OH 44857
Web: http://neo.salvationarmy.org/northeastohio/norwalk

National Alzheimer's Association
225 North Michigan Ave., Floor 17, Chicago IL 60601
Web: https://www.alz.org/