Bobby was born in Timor, N.D., on Jan. 27, 1916 to Benjamin and Lily Lane. His mother’s maiden name was Burdick. They and his sister, Bessie, lived in a sod hut and were struggling farmers.

When he was about 3-years-old the family decided to give up the farm and, if you can believe it, move to Eureka, Calif. Ben wanted to work for the railroad and the father of the family that they traveled with had saw mill experience. They camped along the way.

Their speed was somewhat inhibited because Lily insisted that she and the children walk across all bridges after the cars had crossed. I guess she wanted to be safe. When they got as far as Spokane, Wash., Lily came down with the grippe (pneumonia) and in those days it required a long recovery period. The other family went on their way and the Lanes stayed in Hillyard just north of Spokane. Ben worked for the Great Northern R.R. Bobby started his long love of cars then, as he put together a car that was made of parts that he found in the dump. He drove it to grade school, much to everyone’s dismay.

In John Roger’s High School he met Adaline Ostby and they were married and moved to Seattle when the war seemed imminent. They both worked at Keyport Naval Station. Adaline put together gyros for torpedos and Bob was a carpenter. After the war they moved to Seattle and Bob worked at a shop that made restaurant fixtures. He then built a large shop at his home and made friends with a lot of old car restorers and helped them replace the underpinnings of these old “horseless carriages” which were mostly wood. He restored a Sterns-Knight and then a model-T which he painted red, not one of Henry Ford’s colors. He became a fan of resoration and applied to Bill Harrah for a job in his old car museum in Sparks, Nev.

That started a new twenty year phase of his life. Working for Mr. Harrah turned out to be a myriad of experiences. He helped restore the Bugatti Royale for the museum. He did the dashboard. It was rosewood and made like a roll top desk. The car is one of the rarest and most expensive in the world. He also traveled to the lodge in Stanley, Idaho, helping get it into its previous glory. Upon retirement he moved to Chattaro, Wash., a small town north of Spokane and again built a shop next to their home and worked on his and other’s old cars. When Adaline became ill they decided to move closer to their daughter and he finally made it to Eureka.

At her passing Bob took refuge in the senior center and was a regular until last Friday. He was preceded in death by his parents, sister, and wife. He leaves behind his daughter Joan, son-in-law Michael Dal Porto, grandchildren Kim Miller, and 14 great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren. At his request the service will be private and he requested that any rememberances be to the Senior Resource Center in Eureka.