William T. Kane

Infobox Person
name = William T. Kane


image_size =
caption =
birth_date = birth date|1932|9|8
birth_place = Jamaica, New York, USA
death_date = death date and age|2008|9|23|1932|9|8
death_place = Cheyenne, Laramie County, Wyoming
alma_mater = University of Missouri
religion = Episcopalian
spouse=Virginia L. "Ginny" Kane
children=William P. Kane
Gretchen Gilbert
Ellen Jacobson
Kathleen "Cindy" Lewis
footnotes=(1) Kane's three patents contributed to the early processing and manufacture of fiber optics.

(2) Kane participated in secret overflights over the former Soviet Union during the Cold War.

(3) Kane's principal work was with Corning Incorporated, formerly Corning Glass Works, in Corning, New York.

William T. Kane (September 8, 1932—September 23, 2008) was a physicist for Corning Incorporated, formerly Corning Glass Works, Inc., in Corning, New York, who held three patents in crystallography and heat-sensing technology -- developments which contributed to the early processing and manufacture of fiber optics. He was also the Corning representative for the establishment of international standards in the use of fiber optics in communications."Corning Leader", Corning, New York: http://www.the-leader.com/obituaries/x1800998989/Dr-William-T-Kane]

Kane attended the Universities of Colorado, Kansas, and Missouri in Boulder, Lawrence, and Columbia, respectively. He procured his Ph.D. in 1966 in X-Ray crystallography from Missouri.

Kane was also an Air Force officer, having served as a navigator in the Air Force's 55th and 38th Strategic Reconnaissance Wings from 1953-1959. As an electronics warfare officer, he participated in the Cold War overflights of the former Soviet Union, espionage missions not disclosed until years later. He earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal. He was also an Air Force Reserve officer from 1959-1966, having departed the military with the rank of captain.

He was born in Jamaica, New York, to Dr. J.T. Kane, a physician and surgeon originally from Brooklyn, and the former Marjory Lillian Davis, a native of London. He subsequently resided and worked in Big Flats, Corning, and Lake Placid, New York. In 1993, he retired to Cheyenne, Wyoming. He was an active skier and sportsman. He was a member of Rotary International and several fraternal and professional associations.Obituary of William T. Kane, Cheyenne "Wyoming Tribune-Eagle", September 27, 2008:http://www.wyomingnews.com/articles/2008/09/27/obituaries/01obit_09-27-08.txt]

Kane died at Pointe Frontier Retirement Center in Cheyenne after a lengthy illness. He was survived by his wife, Virginia L. "Ginny" Kane of Cheyenne; a son, retired Air Force Brigadier General William P. Kane of Colorado Springs; three daughters, Gretchen Gilbert of Cedar Grove, New Jersey, Ellen Jacobson of Reno, Nevada, and Kathleen "Cindy" Lewis of Cheyenne; eight grandchildren; one great-grandson, and two sisters, June Kunz of Keene, New Hampshire, and Phyllis Lazarus of San Jose, California.

Memorial services were held on September 27, 2008, at St. Christopher's Episcopal Church, 2602 Deming Boulevard, in Cheyenne.

References