Kenneth Lane

Dr. Kenneth David Lane

Newburgh, ME

Kenny was born in Bangor, ME in 1952 to Alice (Hopper) and Philip Lane of Newburgh. He fought bravely but ultimately succumbed to Cancer at the age of 72 on Feb 18th 2024. Kenny and Alice Jean were married for 25 years this past New Years, having once been high-school sweethearts who re-connected after they both moved back to the Bangor area after 30 years apart.

Also surviving is Kenny's first wife and mother to his children Zoe (Robles) Lane. Their children are Benja & her husband Dr. Pachavit Kasemsap, & their son Michael, & her daughter Manda, & her son Austin; Phillip Lane, & his daughter Taylor & his step-daughter Mya, & his step-son MJ, David & his wife Tami, & their sons Brady & Aiden, & their daughter Zoey. Surviving along with Alice Jean is her son & daughter by another marriage; Jon & his wife Cortney Eldridge, & their sons Andrew, Bradyn, Caden, & Bennett, and her daughter Laura & her husband Stephen Jolly & their daughters Erin and Sara.

Kenny was blessed with a large family who all benefited greatly from his wisdom, generosity, and genuine humanity. His Grandmother was a Newburgh teacher who taught in a 1-room school house and was an influence on his academic achievements. He had 4 siblings, including Carol (Lane) & her husband Earl Mazerolle, Barry Lane & his wife Cindy, Doreen (Lane) & her husband Bob Rodgers, and Laura Lane. His only surviving sibling Doreen (Lane) Rodgers was instrumental in the safety, care, & comfort for Kenny's last days and ensuring he could live his best life at home with his loving wife Alice Jean Lane. His Nieces and Nephews include: Amber Haaser, Joshua Lane, Danny Lane, Seamus Peebles, Michael Karn, Anna Watkins, &, Robert Casey.

He was a man of great intelligence and many talents, and had an insatiable intellect which led him to many hobbies and interests. These are just a few of the highlights:

Hobbies and Interests

o As a Newburgh teenager, Kenny was a member of Ralph Nason's racing team pit crew

o He spent most of his teenage days around Hampden, Newburgh, and Winterport with his best friend and brother Barry Lane, Newel Porter, Arthur Young, & Gary

o Performed odd jobs such as: blueberry picking, haying, lumber, well drilling, donut baking, and a paper route

o Worked diligently with Pete Silva to gather information on race results over the past 70 years to provide information to the Maine Vintage Racing Association for the election of drivers to the Hall of Fame and to create an oral history of Stock Car Racing in Maine

o Became Chairman of the Maine Vintage Racing Association's Hall of Fame Committee

o Kenny was a talented carpenter who was able to design and build his own cabinets, as well as many beautiful pieces of furniture, and multiple buildings on his Newburgh property

o Spent over 20 years researching his family Genealogy all the way back to the 14th Century

o Kenny had an interest in history, and specifically the Civil War and Baseball. He would spend many a road trip discussing players, teams, and statistics with his son David, and together they would tour Civil War battlefields and historical sights up and down the East coast, including Antietam, Gettysburg, Andersonville, Petersburg, Spotsylvania, Fredericksburg, and many more

o Kenny loved to fish in saltwater, and had the opportunity to take many multi-day charters to the Bahamas, where he mostly caught Yellowtail Snapper, Strawberry Grouper, and Queen Trigger. There was one trip with his son David, where they cleaned fish for 8 hours and filled up 5 large coolers with filets

o Was also an avid Maine fisherman, who enjoyed going after trout with his grandson Austin Lane, who would frequent Baxter State Park with him

o Kenny was a huge supporter of his son Philip while he competed at the highest levels of High School basketball, and Kenny would drive him from Satellite Beach to Lakeland, FL and home 3 days a week for months to practice with his AAU team. There weren't many games Kenny missed, and he loved to let the referees know when they were missing calls and would often communicate his disapproval with fervor

o Was an avid sports fan, who loved the Red Sox & Celtics and rarely missed a game on TV or Radio. He attended many sporting events with his sons Philip and David

o Loved to do his own auto mechanical work, and kept many Volkswagens and Toyotas running. My favorite example was his mounting a Weber carburetor on a Dodge Ram 50 after removing all of the fuel injection system. He improved the gas mileage by 15-20 MPG and Philip & David drove it for another 100,00 miles

o Gardening was also one of his many talents, at one point he had over an acre of plantings which he would harvest and make sauces for canning

o On Sundays, he loved watching NASCAR & later Formula One with his wife Alice Jean, his best friend and sister Doreen (Lane) Rodgers, and her husband Bob Rodgers. He would often attend local races such at Oxford, Speedway 95, and Unity

o All of these, and too many still to mention

Kenny was the first of his generation to earn a college degree, and was inspired by his grandmother, who taught him and his siblings in a 1-room schoolhouse in Newburgh. He was deservedly proud of his academic achievements. Here are some highlights:

Academics

o Attended UMaine Presque Isle and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics

o Competed with the wrestling team at UMPI

o With his first unborn child along, he and his first wife Zoe (Robles) Lane hitchhiked from Maine to Idaho State University so he could attend Graduate School

o While working the midnight shift at Dunkin Donuts, and with 2 children at home and one on the way, he earned his Doctorate of Science in Applied Mathematics. Some of his thesis work can still be seen today in web search and data science applications

Kenny had an extraordinary career that took him from NY, to California, Florida, and ultimately Maine. He was a self-taught Computer Scientist and Programmer, and made a career of it after convincing engineers at NASA of his abilities to solve real-world problems. He loved teaching above all else, and enjoyed his job at Husson University where he would remain until retirement. He disproved the common assumption that "Those who can: do, and those who can't: teach." He was capable of anything put in front of him.

Professional Career

o Was a professor of Mathematics at Hamilton College in Hamilton, NY

o Was a professor of Mathematics at Colby College in Waterville, ME

o While on sabbatical at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont CA, he began to teach himself computer science, and assisted Honeywell with the creation of the AH-64 Apache flight simulator. He also worked on the very beginning of global GPS technologies

o Was a professor of Mathematics at UM Presque Isle, his alma mater

o Attended a summer program at NASA and was able to solve several issues with the Trident Missile guidance system, and was offered a job as a Sr Computer Scientist at Raytheon's CSR (Computer Sciences) division and moved to Florida full-time

o While at CSR, Kenny was the lead on program to update the Trident Missile guidance system to be more accurate for a conventional warhead, which was a large part of global efforts aimed at the reduction of nuclear arms. He also worked with the USAF 25th Space Wing on projects involving the tracking of ICBMs and other Top Secret programs. He also worked with USAF Range Safety at Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral to determine if & reduce the risk to the population if a missile went off course

o Left CSR to start KDL Labs, a consulting firm which specialized in computer sciences. KDL Labs took on projects including the replacement of the "Cyber", a computer built in the 1970s & used to manage the Space Shuttle launch sequence

o After closing up KDL Labs, Kenny moved back to Maine and worked as a Consultant assisting the State of Maine in optimizing telecommunications between emergency services at the town, city, county, and state levels

o Kenny ultimately went back to teaching. He was a professor in the Information Systems program at Husson University until an opening in the Math Department became available. Kenny was a wonderful proponent and teacher of mathematics, and taught his students with patience, practicality, and openness. These qualities endeared him to his students and made him a very popular professor, despite the difficulties of the subjects he taught

o During Covid, Kenny was granted a Sabbatical to research the soon-to-be implemented in Maine; Ranked Choice Voting and its many possible outcomes. This work was published by Husson University

Kenny loved his pets, and leaves behind JoJo, a Blue Fronted Amazon parrot, Merle, a male Maine Coon Cat, and Maude, a female Rottweiler/German Shepard mix.