Ernest Lane III

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Ernest Lane III died on November 15, 2022, in Oxford, Mississippi, after a brief illness. Visitation will be held on Friday, November 18, 2022, from 12:30 to 2:00 at First Baptist Church of Oxford, with the funeral service immediately following.

Ernie was born in Pittsboro, Mississippi, to the late Ernest Lane Jr. and the late Helen McMurtrey Lane, and he grew up in Greenville. He was a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity at Ole Miss, graduating in 1963, and he returned to campus to earn his law degree in 1970. He and his wife, Donna Davis Lane, raised their family in Greenville. Ernie developed his own practice, the Lane Law Firm, specializing in maritime defense law. Court cases took him up and down the Mississippi River and along the Gulf Coast, and he became recognized throughout the region as an expert in his specialty. Though his work kept him busy, he always made time for family, for Ole Miss sports, and for duck hunting.

After semi-retiring in 2004, Ernie and Donna moved to Oxford, where they were able to see more Ole Miss games and enjoyed dining out and hosting family gatherings, when they were not traveling in Europe or visiting their kids and grandkids. Ernie continued to work for a select few clients into his late 70s, and he enjoyed excellent health right up until the final three weeks of his life, when he found out that he had advanced cancer. He died with his wife of 57 years and his children at his side.

Ernie is survived by his wife Donna Lane of Oxford; by his children Laura Lane Widerkehr (Bob) of Chattanooga, Tennessee, Mark Lane (Elizabeth) of Missoula, Montana, and Claire Lane Fowler (John) of Hernando; by his sister Diane Lane of Grenada; and by his five grandchildren: Lane Widerkehr, Hannah Widerkehr, Murray Lane, John Coleman Fowler, and Helen Fowler.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Ernie’s memory to Samaritan’s Purse (www.samaritanspurse.org or PO Box 3000, Boone, NC 28607).