Marvin Ira Lane (1934 - 2023)

     Rev. Marvin Ira Lane passed away on Dec. 28, 2023 in Columbia, S.C. after a short illness.  Marvin was predeceased in 2014 by his wife of 25 yeas, Patricia Anne Tyler Lane.  He is survived by his daughters Heather Lare Mulle (Tim) of Blythewood, S.C., Carrie Letitia Lare (Sarah Thomason) of Asheville, N.C.; his stepson Hoyt C. Burnett III (Sarah) of Columbia, S.C.; grandchildren Hunter Lee Muller, Lucy Grace Burnett, Nathan Buckner Burnett and Camille Tyler Burnett; and several nieces and nephews.

     Marvin graduated from Southern Methodist University and Claremont School of Theology in 1963.  He was an Elder in the South Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church.  The (Rev) Mr. Lare served as pastor of several United Methodist churches and was Executive Minister of Dallas (Tex.) Inner City Ministry.  In Columbia, S.C., he was Executive Coordinator of Community Care, Inc. where he established a number of community programs and was also Director of the South Carolina Institute on Poverty and Deprivation.  In 1993, the Governor of South Carolina presented Mr. Lare the Most Outstanding State Employee Award for Excellence and Innovation.  

     He served in the Planning Division of the South Carolina Department of Social Services from 1995 to 2003 and was awarded a Fellowship to the State and Local Government Executives Program at John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Throughout his career, Rev. Lare was a committed civil and human rights leader.  He participated in the Selma-Montgomery Voting Rights March and in the funeral of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  In retirement, he interviewed over 100 South Carolina civil rights leaders.  These will be published in Champions of Civil and Human Rights in South Carolina.  

     Even though neither was a Clopton descendant, Marvin and his wife, Pat, were for many years devoted members of the Clopton Family Association, attending reunions in the U.S. and Long Melford, England.  He and his wife will be missed.