Lester Norman Kane

LESTER NORMAN KANE October 29, 1942 - February 9, 2013 It is with great sadness and heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Lester "Les" Norman Kane, 70, of Riverside, CA, on Feb. 9, 2013 in Loma Linda, CA, from complications of aortic abdominal aneurysms. Born Oct. 29, 1942 in Cleveland, Ohio to Daniel and Betty (Allen) Kane, Les was known for his love of baseball, keen belief that doing the right thing is more important than doing it the right way, sharp and quick sense of humor, and a passion for his family. Les will be lovingly remembered by his wife of 33 years, Karen, and their children, Daniel and Melissa Kane (Suwanee, GA), Heather and Sean Denman (Medina, OH), Joshua and Jenny Kane (Atlanta, GA), Todd and Jennifer Ingraham (Medina, OH), and Ryan and Taylor Kane (Riverside, CA). Les "Poppi" will also be fondly remembered by his 12 grandchildren, Dalton, Chandler, Gannon, Anna, Aidan, Maura, Julia, Owen, Hunter, Haydn, Trevor, and Wesley. Les is also survived by his brother, Morton and Cheryl Kane (Solon, OH), niece Jennifer Kane (Hilton Head, SC) and nephew David Kane (Solon, OH). Retired for three years, Les had a lengthy career in the retail management field. While working for The Higbee Company (Cleveland, OH), Sandbar Stores (Atlanta, GA), K-Mart (Cleveland, OH), Smythe Business Systems (Canton, OH), IBM Int'l Consulting Div., JDS Solutions (Carlsbad, CA), et al, his ability to connect with others gained him recognition as an excellent Consultative Salesman and Project Manager who achieved great success in each position he held. He received Golden Circle honors from IBM on multiple occasions. Les was a highly skilled, part-time, political consultant who offered his personally developed and extremely effective campaign analytics and strategies for free or a very low fee to candidates of his choosing whom he felt would "do the right thing" in office. His future wife, Karen, was one of these candidates when they met in 1978. Les served, actively, on the Board of Directors of the Riverside Arts Foundation, the Riverside Opera Association, and the American Red Cross of Riverside County. He was also an active participant in his wife's work with the Riverside County Substance Abuse Program and the County Alcohol and Drug Program Administrators Assoc. of Calif. In his later years, Les took to writing and enjoyed working on multiple projects. Sadly, we will not be able to read the end of the books he was writing. We can, however, enjoy some of his insight. An excerpt from something he wrote on dreams: "None of us wants to come to the end of our journey with a long list of things I wish I had done. The first step to shortening that list is to dream about the things you would like to do, now! Make time to dream. And then work on making your dreams come true." A Memorial Service will be held Friday, February 22 at 11:00 am at the California Citrus State Historical Park, 9400 Dufferin Ave, Riverside, CA, 92504 (the Amphitheater). A Celebration of Life and buffet luncheon will follow at the Kane family home. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions to the American Red Cross: www.redcross.org/ca/riverside - or your local Chapter of the American Red Cross. "Except for smoking, obesity is now the number one preventable cause of death in this country. Three hundred thousand people die of obesity every year,"- Dr. C. Everett Koop