Shirley Jean Lane, March 1923–June 2024
Shirley Jean Lane was born in New York in March 1923. She died in the Los Angeles area in June 2024, at the age of 101. She was a subscriber to this magazine, and Hearing Health Foundation is grateful that she named HHF in her will.
In fact, Lane’s gift launches the next phase for HHF’s planned giving efforts: a new matching challenge to inspire legacy commitments from our community.
HHF learned details about Lane through her longtime accountant, Lionel Sanders. Lane’s father was born in Russia, and her mother was born in the U.S. Her family lived in New York during Lane’s early childhood.
At some point she moved to Los Angeles, Sanders says, and she was a computer programmer at UCLA for the last 25 years of her career.
Lane had a severe hearing loss, and learned to read lips quite well. She often wore a small index card around her neck that read “DEAF.” If she didn’t like someone or didn’t want to talk with them, she would just point to the sign.
Sanders says Lane loved to travel and biked all over Europe until her 70s. He shares that she traveled coach class until he convinced her to fly first class, and she was grateful to him for that suggestion. He adds that the way he managed to be her accountant for 35 years can be explained by the fact that he never said no to her.
Lane never married and had no known family members, Sanders says. She also never owned property, enjoying California’s rent control. She lived the last few years of her life in a senior assisted living facility.
If you have ever considered extending your support of HHF beyond your lifetime, Lane’s generous gift will multiply the impact of your legacy. To learn more, please contact Harriet Hessam, HHF’s planned giving officer, at hhessam@hhf.org or 212.257.6142. Thank you. Your support truly matters.
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