Lance passed away at home with his beloved wife Jill, and sons, Max and Brian at his side, on December 23, 2006, just shy of his 50th birthday. He had been heroically fighting cancer for two years Lance was born on April 9, 1957 in Oakland, California.

Lance attended Santa Clara High School where he distinguished himself as a member of the 1975 number one ranked swimming team in the nation. He also attended UCLA and was awarded All America swimming honors during his freshman year. He spent his last two years of college at the University of Arizona and was a member of that swimming team.

After college Lance became a Santa Clara Firefighter where he proudly served for 26 years until his death. Lance's love of water continued as he, members of his fire department, as well as Max and Brian could be found throwing their surf boards in their truck and heading for Santa Cruz to ride the waves. He loved the ocean and passed on this passion of surfing to his boys who have become avid surfers.