Charles Brede Lane

Lane—Charles Brede Lane, 90, on July 10, 2024, in Lancaster, Pa. Charles was born on April 23, 1934, to Richard Thatcher Lane and Anne Brede Lane, both of whom were Quakers, in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Charles attended Oakwood Friends School in Poughkeepsie and Westtown School in West Chester, Pa., where he graduated in 1952. He majored in engineering at Haverford College in Haverford, Pa., graduating in 1956. At Haverford, Charles pursued his love for languages, adding German and Russian to his high school French. Following graduation, he traveled solo in Europe, honing his language skills and making many friends.

When he received his military draft notice, Charles applied for conscientious objector status. He performed alternative service with Brethren Volunteer Service in Austria, helping Hungarians fleeing the 1956 uprising against the Soviets to find asylum in Europe or the United States.

Returning to the United States in 1959, Charles worked for Richardson’s Scale Company as a sales engineer. His job involved much travel, including to Mexico City, where Charles added Spanish to his language repertory. In 1968, his work took him to Germany, where he met and, in 1969, married Marga Nill. They moved to the United States, settling in New Jersey, where their sons, David and Daniel, were born.

When Richardson’s was acquired by a conglomerate engaged in military work, Charles resigned. He joined a Swiss chemical company, Lonza AG, as export manager. Charles spent half of each year traveling to more than 25 countries, building a network of agents and clients for Lonza. Marga took the lead in running the household and raising their boys.

In 1997, Charles retired. He and Marga moved to Lancaster, where Charles became an active member of Lancaster Meeting. As a committed pacifist, he was active in Lancaster’s peace movement. He participated in weekly peace vigils on the courthouse steps until very recently. During the Iraq War, he led weekly demonstrations opposing the war, with many protestors carrying signs based on the FCNL theme, “We seek a world free of war and the threat of war.” After the 9/11 attack, Charles helped organize the Lancaster Coalition for Peace and Justice, serving as treasurer and participating in the coalition’s activities. In 2014, he spoke out on behalf of landowners concerned about the environmental consequences of building the Atlantic Coast Pipeline across Lancaster County. He frequently wrote letters to the editors of Lancaster newspapers. Ironically, in view of his committed pacifism, he had a passion for building and firing (at targets) black powder rifles.

Charles loved nature and the outdoors and enjoyed building projects from wood or metal. His greatest joy, however, was connecting with people. Charles used his linguistic fluency, boundless curiosity about cultures, knowledge of international politics and history, and extraordinary memory for names and dates to find common ground with many of the people he met. He saw inherent value in everyone and treated all with kindness and respect. Among Lancaster Friends, Charles went out of his way to get to know the meeting’s children and remember their names. He sat in a central position in the worship room and would greet people with a warm smile. In Friendly discussions, Charles always shared his extensive knowledge of Quakers and Quakerism and his well considered opinions of the same.

Charles was predeceased by a brother, Richard Lane.

He is survived by his wife, Marga Lane; two children, David and Daniel; two grandchildren; two siblings, Peter Lane and Elizabeth Morrison; and a number of nieces and nephews.