William N. Lane II | |
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Born | William Noble Lane July 21, 1917 |
Died | September 18, 1978 | (aged 61)
Occupation(s) | Binding company, bank, and ranch owner |
Known for | More than doubled the size of Bell Ranch when he owned it [1] |
William N. Lane II (c. 1917–1978) was an American president and chairman of Lane Industries, which owned General Binding Corporation, a farm in Virginia, and Bell Ranch. [2] Lane was the chief executive officer and chairman of the Board of General Binding Corporation, a firm that makes business equipment. [2] [3] Bell Ranch is a large cattle ranch in eastern New Mexico. [3] [4] He was the director of four banks, Northwest National Bank of Chicago, Lakeview Trust and Savings Bank, Pioneer Bank and Trust Company, and Northbrook Trust and Savings Bank [2] that he purchased between 1970 and 1976. [5]
Lane was a member of the Class of 1939 at Princeton University. [6] During World War II, he was a pilot and flight instructor for the United States Navy. [2]
William Noble Lane, the son of Elizabeth Schwaab Lane and William Noble Lane Sr., was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on July 21, 1917. [1] Lane married Ann (née Phelps) Young [7] [8] in June 1949 in Lake Forest, Illinois. [1] Ann was the stepmother of William N. Lane III. The couple had five children, Carolyn, Barbara, Jeffrey, Nelson, and Andrew. [2] [8] Lane lived in Lake Forest, Illinois [2] and at his 292,000-acre cattle ranch Bell Ranch. He died at his ranch after running off the road and crashing his car on September 18, 1978. [2] [3] Lane's wife lived at the ranch at the time of his death. [1] Ann died in Charlottesville, Virginia on October 23, 1991. [8] Lane and his wife Ann were buried at Bell Ranch in Tucumcari, New Mexico. [9]
Following his father's death, William N. Lane III became the vice chairman at General Binding Corporation. [10] Brothers Andrew and Jeffrey and Jeffrey's wife Janet lived and worked at the Bell Ranch at the time of their father's and father-in-law's death. [1]