News

By Emily J. Minor
    
DELRAY BEACH — John C. Lake, 73, who moved to South Palm Beach in 1991 to be closer to the two daughters he so loved, died Sept. 3. He had been battling Parkinson’s disease for about 15 years.
Born May 18, 1940, in Orange, N.J., Mr. Lake spent most of his professional years as a lands acquisition developer and builder in Colorado, said his daughter, Megan Lake. One of his largest and most successful projects was the 2,200-unit Hunter’s Run development in Aurora, Colo., but he was responsible for building many other award-winning single-family homes, town homes, condominiums and apartments in the Denver area, she said.
    Plus, he was a heck of a nice guy. “Oh my gosh, he was such a sweetheart,” said Lake, a local Realtor who lives in Delray Beach. “Sweet. Loving. Very caring.”
    Lake said her dad loved ice cream, golf and the beach. When he opted for semi-retirement about 22 years ago, he chose South Florida to be near family.
    Before the Parkinson’s got the better of him, he would walk every day along the ocean, she said.
    Eventually, Mr. Lake developed dementia and was moved to Abbey Delray South, she said.
    “He always had a very good sense of humor,” she remembers.
    Besides Lake, another daughter, Kelley Johnson, also of Delray Beach, survives him — along with a son-in-law, granddaughter and his longtime life partner, Joan Pickford of South Palm Beach.
    A service was held Sept. 28, and the family asks that any memorials be given in his honor to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, Grand Central Station, P.O. Box 4777, New York, NY 10163.
Lorne & Sons Funeral Home handled the arrangements.