Mary Etta Ross Langford, beloved wife, mother, daughter and sister, passed away peacefully on July 27, 2013. Mary was a good woman, as our father was fond of telling her. She was fiercely loyal to her family and friends and happily devoted all that she had to them. When her mother became ill and required round the clock care,Mary delayed her high school education so that she could lovingly attend to her. This was only the first of many sacrifices that she made for her loved ones. After her husband, Jack Q. Langford, returned from serving in WWII, Mary pinched pennies and took on odd laundry jobs, all the while caring for her children so as to purchase Jack just a little more time to study.When he received his B.S. in Civil Engineering at the University of Utah, she was also awarded a Ph.T., "Pushing Hubby Through," an award of which she was rightly proud. Mary was a miracle worker when it came to stretching a dime and because of her ingenuity and hard work, she was able to stay at home with her children, feeding, clothing and educating them on Jack's modest salary. She used to wake her children at the crack of dawn to read scripture with us before we went to school, surreptitiously robbed the grocery budget to pay for our music lessons and mended her winter coat so that she could buy us new ones. As her mother-in-law aged, Mary offered her the same love and compassion as she had her own mother. She managed this even as she continued to tend to her family, serve valiantly in several different LDS church positions and support Jack in his own callings. She continued her life of service to her family into the next generation, babysitting her grandchildren while her children were working, studying or slipping away for time alone. After his retirement, she and Jack became ordinance workers in the Salt Lake Temple, a calling that she deeply enjoyed. They looked forward to spending the remainder of their lives in leisure and travel, but he sadly died shortly thereafter on one of their trips in 1990.Only a few months later, she lost her sister and best friend, Jeannie Woodson. This was a sad beginning to a new life, but Mary faced it with courage and determination, serving her church and family and with them traveling to many international destinations.
Mary was a woman of faith who strove to model Christ-like behavior in every way. Quick to forgive and anxious to maintain family harmony, she tried very hard to teach her children those same qualities. She always encouraged us to turn the other cheek and she demonstrated remarkable strength and courage cloaked in gentleness. Despite the fact that we sometimes gave her ample cause to do so, we never heard her curse. She took great pride in the accomplishments of her husband, children and grandchildren, happy merely to stand in the background and let us have the limelight. To us though, she was always center stage and she played her many roles with grace and aplomb. She wasn't perfect though; she cheated shamelessly at cards, she couldn't resist a "treasure" at a garage sale and she collected far more dishes than she could ever use.
Seven children and their spouses, 28 grandchildren and still more great grandchildren, now "rise up and call her blessed," just as she'd always hoped. Her children and their spouses are Carol L. and B. Thomas Colemere, Patricia A. and William Snarr, John Q. and Colleen Jeffs Langford, Mary Ann and Thomas B. Hall, David A. and Marylu Bailey Langford, Alan R. and Lori Short Langford and Julie Langford and John H. Myers.
A viewing will be held at Larkin Sunset Gardens in Sandy, 1950 E 10600 S, on Thursday, August 1 at 6:30-8:30 p.m. Another will be held the next day from 10:30-11:30 at the Salt Lake Cottonwood 4th Ward, 5565 South Neighbor Lane, just prior to the funeral, which will begin at 12:00 p.m. We will miss her laughter, her wit and her kindness.
