Edwin Green Lane III

1942 - 2015

Lexington Urban County Council member Edwin "Ed" Green Lane III, founder and publisher of The Lane Report magazine, died Sunday night. He was 73.

Lane, a longtime commercial real estate broker, had battled cancer for more than two years, according to a statement Monday afternoon from The Lane Report, a monthly magazine of business news.

He made his first run for public office in 2004, when he was elected the 12th District council member. He took office in 2005 and had been re-elected to two-year terms ever since.

Lane is survived by daughters Susan Brett Lane and Katherine Meredith Lane, who were with him when he died, according to The Lane Report.

"The staff is saddened by the passing of an amazing man, but it is lessened by how we marvel at the legacy Ed Lane leaves," said Mark Green, editorial director of Lane Communications Group.

"His energy, his intelligence, his enthusiasm, his optimism and concern for his family, community and the nation will be missed but will continue to influence us. He was a true leader. The man had enthusiasm for life."

Lexington Mayor Jim Gray issued a statement: "Not only was Ed highly successful in his own business, he was an outstanding public servant who brought his business experience and expertise to City Hall to fight for Lexington's business men and women. He also was a strong advocate for his district. Our city will miss his leadership and experience."

Sen. Mitch McConnell said he "was saddened to hear of the passing of my good friend, Ed Lane. Ed was a dedicated public servant and a tireless advocate for the people of Kentucky. He was also a successful businessman and publisher. I always enjoyed reading the Lane Report, a great publication for and about Kentucky's business community, especially Ed's engaging One-on-One interviews. Elaine and I send our condolences to his family. Ed will be sorely missed."

Councilman Bill Farmer Jr. said Lane's knowledge about real estate proved valuable whenever the council considered whether to buy property.

"He could make or break any land deal," Farmer said. "He could sit and go through the numbers at the microphone, off the top of his head, about what the overhead would be, how much something would cost, what the cost would be per square foot. ... He could look at any deal like that and criticize it or laud it, and immediately you would go, 'Yep, that's it and why.'"

Born July 29, 1942, Lane was a graduate of the University of Georgia.

After college, he worked for a major advertising agency in New York for a couple of years, according to The Lane Report website. He later moved to Atlanta, where he was the sales manager for WRNG radio and was president of the Atlanta Young Republicans.

He also got into the commercial real estate business, which led to a job as the national director of real estate for Lexington-based Jerrico in its Atlanta regional office. The Lane Report said. Lane came to Lexington regularly as he scouted new locations for the company, and he was involved in many site acquisitions for Long John Silver's Seafood Shoppes nationwide.

In 1981, Lane started the Lexington-based commercial real estate brokerage Lane Consultants and, later, Lane Communications Group, publisher of The Lane Report.

Former councilman Doug Martin said he and Lane were from opposite ends of the political spectrum, but they enjoyed breaking bread together in a restaurant or at Lane's home.

"He was a fine chef," said Martin, who sat next to Lane in the council chambers from 2009 to 2013. "He was always very proud of coming up with some great concoction or some great recipe or some great ingredient that he'd found. He would have pots of herbs and fish and seasonings, and it would all just kind of stew together and it would end up in this fabulous presentation."

Services will be at 7 p.m. Aug. 15 at Kerr Brothers Funeral Home on Harrodsburg Road. Visitation will begin at 6 p.m.