Joe Wendell Lane

Joe Wendell Lane, 91, of Weatherford and formerly of Stephenville, passed away on Wednesday, May 8.

Joe was born in Seagraves, Texas, on December 18, 1932. He was the second child and only son of Alvie and Hazel Lane. His older sister, Wanda Loyce, was his protector and defender as the family moved from job site to job site during the Great Depression. Alvie worked in road construction and on several WPA projects, including the Mustang Bowl in Sweetwater. When Joe was about four years old, the family briefly lived in Sonora, Texas, where Alvie worked on the same roads that Joe would work on 30 years later.

When Wanda started high school, the Lane family settled permanently at their home in Sweetwater, where Joe attended school, graduating in 1950. He spent a year at Hardin-Simmons College before transferring to Texas Technological College (now Texas Tech University). At Tech he was active in the Saddle Tramps, Men’s Glee Club, and the Army ROTC. But it was a certain co-ed from Brown County who became his most ardent pursuit. For Joe, it was love at first sight when Anita Newton walked down the stairs of Knapp Hall to meet him for a blind date.

Uncle Sam called Joe into service in 1954, and he reported to Ft. Gordon, Georgia, but not before getting Anita to promise to marry him. They married on July 9, 1955, at the First Baptist Church in Cross Cut, Texas. Immediately after the wedding, they set out for Georgia so that Joe could finish up his army service. They returned to Texas in 1956, and Joe graduated with his BS in Civil Engineering from Texas Tech in 1958. 

Joe started his career with the Texas Highway Department (now the Texas Department of Transportation) in Colorado City, Texas, where they bought their first home and welcomed their two daughters—Flaire in 1959 and Marche in 1963. After a short time in Big Spring, the 4 Lanes moved to Sonora in 1964, where Joe served as the resident and later area engineer for over thirty years, supervising the construction of IH-10 through Sutton County and modernizing roads that his dad had worked on when Joe was a child.

During their years in Sonora, Joe and Anita were active in their church and community. Joe was a deacon and the “song leader” at FBC Sonora and often sang at weddings and funerals. He was an active member of the Lions Club and, with Anita, enjoyed participating in various community theater productions. They frequently hosted friends and family in their home, and Joe was always up for cooking some “old dead goat” for anyone who cared to eat it.

After a 35-year career, Joe retired from the Highway Department and began working for FEMA, traveling around the country to assist in the aftermath of various disasters.

In 1999 Joe and Anita moved to Stephenville, where they continued to be active in their church and community and enjoyed traveling, entertaining in their lovely home, and participating in the President’s Circle at Tarleton State University. Joe continued his engineering career, working part-time for Collier Consulting until 2021; and he was instrumental in establishing the College of Engineering at Tarleton.

He and Anita moved to West Fork Assisted Living in Weatherford in 2021.

Joe was predeceased by his parents, Alvie and Hazel Lane; his sister, Wanda Watson and her husband, Billy; and his beloved wife, Anita, who passed away just over two months ago. He is survived by his daughters, Flaire Lane Shumard and Marche Lane Milam; his son-in-law, Dennis Shumard; grandchildren, Grayson Shumard, Eva Milam, and Anna Milam; niece, Debra Mattheyer; nephew, Dave Watson; numerous cousins; and Anita’s nieces and nephews, whom he claimed as his own.

The family appreciates the love and care shown to Joe and Anita by the staff at West Fork, Visiting Angels of Granbury, and Joe’s friend and caregiver Akisa Eagle Star.

Visitation and viewing will be held on Monday, May 13, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., at Galbreaith Pickard Funeral Chapel, 913 N. Elm St., Weatherford, Texas.  Burial will be at 11:30 a.m., on Tuesday, May 14, in the Cross Cut Cemetery, 22001 TX 279, Brownwood, Texas (6 miles south of Cross Plains).  Friends and family are invited to a reception before the graveside service from 10:00-11:00 a.m., at First Baptist Church, 301 N. Main St., Cross Plains, Texas.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Lewis and Ina Newton Memorial Endowed Scholarship, Tarleton State University Foundation, Inc., Box T-0260, Stephenville, Texas 76402 (254-968-9421).