A Legacy of Lake Love: Celebrating Lana Mock

Written By Sarah Marty-Schlipf

Lana Mock had a voracious appetite for life. She was fun-loving, energetic, and gutsy, an avid athlete and traveler who loved the outdoors, particularly water.

Lana and her siblings, Max and Linda, grew up on the south side of Warsaw. When she was a teen, her parents bought property and built a home on Chapman Lake–and Lana and her big brother promptly bought a speedboat. “We’d go out and ski and just mess around,” Max remembers. “She really enjoyed nature. Just give her the outdoors, and she was happy. She was not one to be cooped up.” Years later, while living in Texas, Lana and her partner bought a home on the largest reservoir in the state and a speedboat of their own. “They’d rip across the lake,” Max smiles. “Lana never did anything quietly or slowly. It was full speed or she didn’t do it. She loved life to the hilt.”

After earning her degree from Ball State University, Lana moved to Dallas, where she built a successful career in the insurance industry, eventually owning two insurance agencies. She was a talented athlete, and along with skiing, she played golf and competitive softball in multiple leagues throughout the year. Outgoing and friendly, Lana took great joy in entertaining and throwing big, creative, fun gatherings.

After retirement, she and her partner moved to South Carolina, where they built a house lovingly designed for hosting and immediately wove themselves into the fabric of their new community.

When Lana passed away unexpectedly in June 2024, her family and friends traveled to South Carolina to support her partner and spend time together. “The whole neighborhood stopped in,” says Max. “She was well-known and respected. People just loved her. And she loved people.”

Though Lana lived in another part of the country, she stayed connected to her roots in northern Indiana and to the lakes she once called home. After her death, the Mock family had the opportunity to donate funds from Lana’s estate on her behalf. They chose to honor her love of water and local lakes by making a generous gift to The Watershed Foundation, as well as to conservation associations on Chapman, Center, and Pike Lake. Those gifts will be used to support water quality projects, from invasive species management to erosion and sediment control to projects that increase biodiversity, which was important to Lana.

“We want [these funds] to have a real impact over time, to improve the water and the lakes,” says Max.

TWF is so grateful to Lana and the Mock family for their generosity. Through her gifts, Lana’s love of water and of life will live on, helping keep our lakes healthy for generations to enjoy.

Like Lana, you can leave a legacy of lake love that lasts. When you give to TWF from your will or trust, you’ll help protect the lakes you cherish today and for the future.

Explore planned giving options here, or contact Executive Director Lyn Crighton to discuss the legacy gift that’s right for you.

Learn about others who have made a lasting impact on water quality through legacy giving: