Douglas H. Lance passed away on Sunday, May 4, 2025 after a long battle with prostate cancer that had metastasized to his bones. Being just under one month after his 89th birthday, he frequently expressed gratitude for a complete life, full of adventures and contentment that he wished many could experience.
The son of Wilburn W. Lance and Lura A. Anderson, he was born on April 11, 1936 and raised in Dahlonega, GA. Today the hills of Georgia are a popular tourist attraction, but to Douglas they were testing grounds where he would learn and excel at wilderness survival, giving rise to a drive and ambition to see the world and make it his own.
In 1956 he met the love of his life, Helga M. Schoepf, when he was stationed in Munich, Germany with the US Army. He asked her to marry him, but she insisted that he “Go back to the states and see other girls. If you still want to get married after a year, we can talk about it.” They corresponded for that year. Douglas enlisted in the US Air Force. On November 15, 1957 in Fallon, Nevada, he married Helga, the woman who would become his partner in adventures global and domestic. She was his life-long companion for 65 years, until she passed on October 9, 2022.
Their son Wilburn K. Lance was born not one year later in 1958, with daughter Christine Bryan following 4 years later in 1962. Working as a teletype operator, a lineman, and an electrician, Douglas and his family travelled Europe and the United States together. After 20 years he retired from the US Air Force in 1974 in Lakewood, Washington. There he worked for another 20 years with the US Civil Service as an electrician at the VA Hospital at American Lake, Washington.
During those years his children Wilburn and Christine grew up and began their own lives. Douglas and Helga moved to Clearwater, FL to enjoy a few more adventures together, with just the two of them. When Helga passed in 2022, and then his son Wilburn in 2023, he spent his last months with his daughter, Christine, in the comfort of his home in Clearwater. He passed peacefully in his bed on the evening of May 4, 2025.
Douglas is survived by his daughter Christine, his grandsons Jesse and James Bryan, and his sister Betty Griffith and her son Parker Griffith.
