Richard J. "Lefty" Kane, Sr.

Richard J. “Lefty” Kane Sr, 86 of Grand Rapids, formerly of Coleraine, Minnesota,

died on Tuesday, January 20, 2026, in The Emeralds in Grand Rapids.

Born on November 16, 1939, in Neptune, New Jersey, he was the son of John and

Alma Kane. 1957 graduate of Bernards High School in Bernardsville, NJ. Attended

David Lipscomb College in Nashville, TN on a baseball scholarship until he blew his arm

out (now known as the Tommy John Surgery) and had to walk away from the sport he

loved. He was a U.S Marine veteran serving in Vietnam. Lefty was a retired “beef

surgeon” or commonly known as a meat cutter for Gordy’s Super Value for 29 years and is

the founding father of Lefty’s Rent a Tent starting in 1980 until his son, Pat and wife Kristi

bought him out in 1995. He was a member of the Eagles, Grand Rapids Moose Lodge,

VFW posts of Lawrence Lake and Grand Rapids. He was a board member on the Beefy

Lawson Memorial Fund and Greenway Area Business Association. He was an avid sports

fan and enjoyed playing sports so much that he wrote an article in the Scenic Range News

called “Generic Sports” for several years. Lefty has a huge passion for his surrounding

communities and helped raise tens of thousands of dollars of support for Mount Itasca,

Bovey Farmer’s Day parades, local high school bands and the Greenway Rec and football

programs. He also attended the MN State High School Hockey Tournament for over 40

years and was well known at the Gopher Bar. Lefty spent several summers meeting new

friends up at Little Winnie Resort and he cherished those times.

Survivors include his children; Richard (Teresa) Kane Jr, Tina (Bobby) Namchek

and Pat (Kristi Jo) Kane. His former wife Marlene (Tonni) Kane, his grandchildren;

Joshua (Whitney) Kane, Kenzie (Adam) West, Taylor (Spencer) Johnson, Kyla (Brandon

Ferrell) Kane and Dallas (Heaven) Kane and great grandchildren Emma West and Brynn

Johnson.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Special friend (Cindy Brown Hannu), and

sisters Patricia, Jacqueline and Rita. Sister in-laws Donna and Diane.

Lefty will be remembered for his free spirit, wild sense of humor and his love for

people in general. He was never afraid to state his love for his country even if his view

was different than yours, but he always believed in peace and love for one another. He

would often say he has a lot of flaws and has made a ton of mistakes, but his love for

happiness was undeniable. For those of you that know him well, he is probably asking

someone right now “When does the 5 o’clock crowd get here?” or if they have “change

for a quarter, I would like to leave a tip!” As we celebrate this man and if you are planning

on attending his celebration of life, the family request that you wear your “Fun Meter” to

honor Lefty! …Over!

Visitation will be from 11:30 to 1:00, followed immediately with the funeral service

on Saturday, January 31, 2026 in the Peterson funeral chapel of Coleraine. Lefty’s military

burial will be at the Lakeview Cemetery of Coleraine, but won’t be until Saturday, April

4 th TBD. Arrangements by the Peterson Funeral Chapel of Coleraine.

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