Oscar Walter Lange Jr.

1946 - 2016

March 30, 1946 - October 14, 2016 Skip Lange passed away peacefully at his home in Glendale, CA after a courageous battle with cancer. Other than his family, Skip's lifelong passion was his work at Walt Disney Imagineering, where he began his career in 1970 as a dimensional designer in the Model Shop, before moving to production design, show producing and field art direction which is where the real fun always began for him - on the construction sites making the magic happen. His many projects included EPCOT's Living Seas, EuroDisney overall field art direction, Disneyland CA Indiana Jones and Nemo Attractions and Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom Tree of Life and It's Tough to be a Bug Show. Skip was a key creative contributor to Tokyo Disney Sea as executive production designer, overseeing the design, production and installation of rockwork across the Park including the creation of a Caldera and "working" Volcano. His last two parks were Hong Kong Disneyland as lead art director for Adventureland and Shanghai Disneyland where he contributed to the creation of two theme lands before he retired in 2014. With these and other accomplishments over his 45 years as an Imagineer ,including 2 patents for the EuroAdventure Isle Skull and Bug Show 3D glasses, Skip's love and legacy may be the Big Thunder Attraction, as he was central to the creation of all Big Thunders across the globe from 1979 - 1992, influencing their design and creating a ride that continues to delight the young and young at heart. A gifted storyteller and artisan and mentor, Skip was a true Imagineer - optimistic, driven, team and guest focused, passionate, forever inspired and inspiring. Skip lived in Glendale with his wife, Janice Douma Lange and is survived by his former wife, Pamela Lange and their two children, Travis and Summer, his two granddaughters, Kylee Autumn and Alexey Kate, a sister Shelley in Washington State and brother Gary in Santa Maria, CA. As a family friend from Japan put so well "Skip had a short and fat life"; he is gone too soon but lived his life to the fullest and we are all better people for having him in our lives. He is already missed dearly by his family, friends and colleagues.