Indian River Shores has lost a member of its Town Council as Judge William Dane Jr. died from cancer recently – way too soon because town residents missed out on getting to know a kind, funny, smart and talented guy.
Dane, 81, who preferred to be called Bill, was elected without opposition to the Shores Town Council a year ago and immediately brought a perspective and skill set to the council’s work. The Shores town council tends to attract people with impressive corporate leadership experience, lots of CEOs and CFOs who quickly master the town budget and pension fund statements and who can definitely run a meeting.
As a trial attorney who had worked as a prosecutor and practiced both criminal and civil law, a mediator of disputes, and as a retired workers’ compensation judge, Dane dealt with finding solutions to the messy problems of people’s everyday lives. He brought a more pragmatic approach to handling the town’s legislative issues.
When an ordinance came up for review or approval, Dane examined it from the angle of how easily it could be enforced and whether it would likely be challenged in court. With his easygoing nature and ever-present sense of humor, Dane could tactfully point out how the town might be heading down a slightly wrong track.
Shores Mayor Brian Foley remembered one instance when Dane’s insight drove him and the council to scrap an ordinance that would have made smoking outdoors akin to a misdemeanor.
“We were trying to get out ahead of the state marijuana legislation, but Bill pointed out that if we made the ordinance that broad, and if every smoking infraction had to be handled by the State Attorney’s Office as a misdemeanor, that would not be looked at so kindly,” Foley said, adding that the town ended up creating a schedule of civil fines instead.
“Having someone with the experience of working in the State Attorney’s Office was of huge value to us in that instance,” Foley said.
A native of Rockford, Illinois, Dane lived in Wisconsin before moving to Coral Gables and eventually Orlando. After graduating from Florida State University in 1968, Dane served his country in the United States Navy, attending Naval Flight School in Pensacola. He had a career in sales after the military, then returned to FSU for law school, was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1986 and served as an Orange County prosecutor and later as a mediator. In 2003, then-Gov. Jeb Bush appointed Dane to the bench in Jacksonville where he served until 2009.
Dane visited Vero Beach for decades and maintained enduring friendships with several local residents, dating back to his college days, but only moved to Bermuda Bay five years ago.
After getting the advanced-stage cancer diagnosis in the spring, Dane continued to actively serve on council through the end of October. He was too unwell to make the last two council meetings.
Apart from his day job as a lawyer, mediator and judge, Dane was a talented musician. He played both acoustic and electric guitar and sang his favorite classic rock and folk tunes, and he accumulated a large collection of guitars over the years.
Dane leaves behind his loving partner Karen Lloyd, a long-time island Realtor, who said she is still coming to grips with the loss of Dane’s sweet soul and quick wit in her daily life.
“Bill will be remembered for his integrity, kindness, quiet strength, unwavering love for his family and friends, and the pure joy he found in playing his many, many guitars,” Lloyd said.
As for the void Dane leaves on the town council, Foley said the town will seek applications from people eligible to vote in the Shores who are interested in serving until the November 2025 election can be held. The town council will interview and select Dane’s temporary successor.
Then in November, a council member will be elected to serve out the balance of Dane’s four-year term which ends in November 2028.
