David Seffers Lane ’46

Many a military pilot has been thankful for a helmet-sight system devised by Dave. His work toward this valuable flying tool began with his graduation in 1946 from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, an event that resulted from a wartime switch after our freshman year.

Next, while earning his electrical engineering master’s degree at the University of Pennsylvania, Dave worked on one of the world’s first computers. That led to Army service as the first director of training for the Ordnance Guided Missile School, followed by work in Paris, France, for Raytheon Corp. and in Minnesota for Honeywell. There his widely used helmet-sight system won him the firm’s highest engineer-scientist award.

Dave’s first wife, Jean Ennis Farber, died in 1997. Their children were Sara Lane, David Jr., Jennie Lane, and Mary Lane Roble. When Dave died May 20, 2014, they all survived him, along with his second wife, Barbara Higley Tall Lane; 10 grandchildren; and two great-grandsons. With condolences to all, ’46 proudly salutes the memory of our enterprising classmate.