Lane D. Craddock

Lane Dale Craddock, M.D., 91, died peacefully on January 29, 2021. Raised as the youngest of nine on a farm in Bogata, Texas, he joined the army at 17, a year after the end of World War II. He attended the University of Texas at Austin on the G.I. Bill, ultimately graduating from medical school in Galveston. He moved to Denver in 1957 for his post-graduate training at Rose Medical Center, where he met the lovely young nurse named Jean who would become his beloved wife of nearly 50 years. They began their marriage in the high mountain town of Climax, where Lane was the doctor for the molybdenum mine. They both loved raising their two daughters, Elaine and Susan, in the natural grandeur of Colorado. At Rose Medical Center, Lane also met Abe Ravin, who became his mentor in the exciting early days of cardiology, in which he pursued a decades-long medical career. Lane opened his private practice and was joined by Phil Wolf, then by longtime partner David Shander in 1970. After training with Dr. Mason Sones in Cleveland, Lane performed the first coronary angiogram in the state of Colorado. He served as chair of the Division of Cardiology and as president of the medical staff of Rose Medical Center. One of his true passions was teaching medical students, which he continued long past his retirement from private practice and for which he was named Outstanding Teacher by the University of Colorado Medical School. In all, Lane was one of the most highly regarded cardiologists in Colorado by both his patients and his peers. Lane was a man ahead of his time in actively supporting the human rights and dignity of all, and he lived these convictions in his interpersonal relationships. He was a voracious reader and a scholar in every sense of the word. Chess, classical music and crossword puzzles were his constant companions, but what made him happiest was being with his beloved family and friends, to whom he was utterly devoted. He is survived by his daughter, Elaine Craddock, and her spouse Marsha Russell, his daughter, Susan Craddock, and her spouse David Bergstrom, and his granddaughter Alaina Henderson. The family is profoundly grateful to the wonderful nurses and doctors at Brookdale Greenwood Village and Bristol Hospice. We are immensely thankful to have shared our lives with this extraordinary man.