Obituary of Leona Elizabeth Lane

Leona Elizabeth Lane, 93, of Woodstock, CT, went home to be with the Lord on Sunday, September 23, 2012. She leaves her loving daughter Effie Jeanne (Lane) Vinal of Eastford, CT; two grandsons, Richard Vinal and wife Amy of Woodstock, CT, Timothy Vinal and wife Mary Jo of Owenton, KY; four granddaughters, Jeanne Griswold and husband Kirk of Newmanstown, PA; Christine Hustus and husband David of Eastford, CT; Brenda Ng and husband Jerry of Puyallup, WA and Faith Pollina and husband David of Gozo, Malta. She also leaves adopted grandson, Dave Alisentono and wife Kathy of Lewisville, TX; three adopted granddaughters, Svitlana Lukyanchenko and Tetyana Lukyanchenko, both of Willington, CT and Veronica Mironova of Donets'ka Oblast', Ukraine; 20 great-grandchildren; one great great-granddaughter; brother Leroy Dodge and wife Linda of Casa Grande, AZ. She was preceded in death by her husband Claude; her daughter Bette Louise; son-in-law, Wayne Vinal; infant granddaughter, Amanda Vinal; infant great-grandson, Joseph Vinal; two sisters, Norma andFlorenceand one brother, William. She was born in Breckenridge, CO, January 7, 1919, the oldest daughter of the late Orval and Freda Dodge. She attended Breckenridge Public Schools and graduated valedictorian of her high school class in 1936. She married Claude Ray Lane, October 15, 1939 and made her home in Denver, CO with him for 59 years. In 2006 she moved to Woodstock to be near her family. For many years she and her husband owned and operated Lane Liquors and later bred, trained and raced Standard Bred horses across the United States. She actively supported Special Olympics and Denver area Saturday Club for mentally handicapped young people. Since moving to Woodstock she regularly attended Eastford Baptist Church. Her family was her joy and she took great pleasure in following her grandchildren's and great-grandchildren's scholastic and athletic achievements. She was an avid sports fan and enjoyed both Denver area and New England sports teams. She was a woman of remarkable character who exhibited strength, commitment, kindness, generosity, and encouragement to those around her. A celebration of her life will be held on Sunday, October 7, at 2:00 pm, at Eastford Baptist Church, 133 Union Rd., Eastford, CT. Burial will be in Fort Logan National Cemetery, Denver, CO, Wednesday, October 3, 2012 at 11:00 am. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to the Eastford Baptist Missions Fund, 133 Union Rd., Eastford, CT. To share a memory with her family, "Light a Candle" at www.smithandwalkerfh.com