Erlyn Lane
Building and Grounds Maintenance Mechanic and Trades Worker
Darling Marine Center

Erlyn “Buddy” Lane has served the University of Maine's Darling Marine Center for 35 incredibly loyal years. He has transformed barns and hay lofts into libraries, apartments, and research labs, built hundreds of experiments for researchers, and helped turn the Darling Center into a state of the art research facility serving thousands of marine scientists from around the world.

The Darling Marine Center is known for excellent service to visiting marine scientists and Buddy has been a key player in making the Center a highly respected research facility. The single most important job that Bud had at the Darling Marine Center is keeping the seawater flowing, which is critical to the Center's function. We figure Bud has pumped over 5,544,000,000,000 gallons, that is over 5.6 trillion gallons of seawater through the buildings during his tenure. Enough to make a good sized lake!

Bud has built most of the labs at the Center. He has renovated or repaired every working space at the Darling Marine Center. He has put up so many walls and taken them down again that he jokes that he never completely hammers a nail all the way in because he knows that he will be taking it out in a year or two for another renovation. Bud has been good natured and a pleasure to work with for the faculty, staff and other visitors at the Center. His colleagues hold him in high esteem and can’t say thanks enough for his loyalty, dedication, and hard work over all these years.

Buddy, please accept our gratitude and appreciation for your 35 years of service to the University of Maine! You have more than earned your retirement and your many colleagues and friends wish you the best!