William Ahrens Lake, 93, of Vero Beach, died Oct. 9, 2011, at VNA Hospice House.
He was born in New York City on April 12, 1918.
He grew up at Lake Hopatcong in New Jersey and was educated in the Roxbury Township School District, graduating from high school in 1936.
He attended Albright College in Reading, Pa., but left college to work for the Bank of the Manhattan Company in New York City.
In 1937, at the age of 19, Lake enlisted in the New Jersey National Guard in the 102nd Cavalry (The Essex Troop).
Post war, Lake rejoined the New Jersey National Guard and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in command of the 215th Tank Battalion of the 50th Armored Division.
In 1951, Lake and his family moved to Skaneateles, N.Y. For ten years, he worked for CARRIER Corporation in Syracuse and rose to the position of general sales manager of their largest division.
From there, he moved to York, Pennsylvania, and in 1964, joined the Pennsylvania-based Peirce-Phelps, Inc.
He became an executive vice president with duties in both Philadelphia and Camp Hill.
During this period, he and his family lived in Camp Hill.
Twenty years later, he retired from Peirce-Phelps.
During retirement, Mr. Lake became an active business mentor in the Harrisburg Chapter of SCORE and a Hospice volunteer.
He was a member and past president of West Shore Country Club in Camp Hill, Pa., and a member of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Mechanicsburg, Pa.
In 1999, he moved to Vero Beach, where he continued his work as a Hospice volunteer.
He was also a member of the Vero Beach Country Club and St. Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church.
Further, he was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Veterans of The Battle of the Bulge, as well as a member of The Essex Troop and the 117th Cavalry Association.
Survivors include: his loving wife of 12 years, Betty Jane Lake; his son, William A. Lake Jr. and his wife, Virginia, of Austin, Texas; his daughter, Debra L. Lusk and her husband, Michael, of Harrisburg, Pa.; his granddaughter, Whitney Lake Harlan, of Austin, Texas; his grandson, William A. Lake III, of Austin, Texas; his granddaughter, Danielle M. Count, of New Cumberland, Pa.; his great-grandchildren, Jamison, Reina, and Vivian, of New Cumberland, Pa., and Ainsley, of Austin, Texas; his nephew, John Lake, of Palm Beach; his stepdaughters, Michelle DeMars, of Fort Lauderdale and Amy Lehoullier, her husband, John, and their sons, Ben and Jack, all of Fellsmere.
He was predeceased by: his first wife of 57 years, Louise Harrington Hall Lake; his son, Martin Hall Lake; his brother, John C. Lake, Jr.; his sister, Velma Lake Koleszar.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Diabetes Association at P.O. Box 11454, Alexandria, VA 22312 or www.diabetes.org.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. October 29th at St. Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church in Vero Beach.