WYOMING - The Reverend J. Donald Bane died Wednesday Sept. 13, 2017 following a long illness.
Born in Beaumont, Texas, the son of Jack and Lois Bane, he attended Beaumont schools. Rev. Bane graduated from Rice University in Houston in 1958.
He spent a year in the Air Force as a radio operator on a C-119. Rev. Bane then attended General Theological Seminary in New York City and graduated with a Master of Divinity in 1962. He was ordained a priest in the Episcopal Church in Texas in 1963. Rev. Bane also completed an MS degree from Iona College in 1973 for the practice of psychotherapy and pastoral counseling.
Rev. Bane served several parishes in Westchester County, New York and the Cathedral of St. John The Divine in New York City. He became assistant chaplain and then Director of Chaplains at Westchester County Medical Center, a tertiary care facility affiliated with New York Medical College until retiring in 1997. While there he created several educational programs to train and support health care professionals in their care of persons with AIDS, cancer and heart disease and provided liturgical and pastoral care for patients, families, and staff.
He was a trustee of the Mental Health Association of Westchester, chair of the Hudson Shore Mental Health Center, chair of the Eastern Region of the America Association of Pastoral Counselors and the Foundation for Religion and Mental Health. Rev. Bane was an editor and one of the authors of "Death and Ministry" and author of other professional articles.
Since moving to Delaware in 2004, he served as interim priest at Christ Church in Dover and last as priest in charge of St. Paul's in Camden. He was involved with creating and fostering better bonds between Muslim and Christian communities. Rev. Bane testified for the defense in the trial of Moussaoui in 2006, resulting in a life sentence.
His passions were reading and flying his Cessna.
His 1st wife, Kay Jibben Bane, a gifted pianist, and mother of Christina Bane Hayes, died at the birth of his son, Michael Andrew Bane on Easter 1968. On September 11, 2001, Michael was lost in the 1st tower of the World Trade Center.
He leaves his wife of 33 years, Arlene Peabody-Bane of Wyoming; daughters, Christine Bane Hayes of Richmond, Va., Brenda Jobe of Marydel; and son, Brain Major of Wyoming; a sister, Diane Bane Hatfield of Colorado Springs; niece and nephew, Jennifer Revering and Christopher Page, both of Dallas, Texas.
Memorial services will be held 11 a.m., Friday, Oct. 13, 2017 at Christ Episcopal Church of Dover, 523 S. State Street, Dover.
In lieu of flowers the family suggests contributions be made to Doctors without Borders USA, P.O. Box 5030, Hagerstown, MD 21741-5030, or any of the organizations for the relief of victims of the 2017 hurricanes and earthquake.
Letters of condolences may be sent and guestbook signed at www.torbertfuneral.com