Ann Langford

Ann Langford, 82, beloved mother, grandmother and friend, entered into eternal peace on May 21, 2016. Jo Ann Morrow was born October 11, 1933, in Walnut Grove, Texas to Louise Beatrice and Henry Edgar Morrow. She graduated from Whitehouse High School in 1951 and studied music at Tyler Junior College. She was a member of the To-Kalon sorority, now known as Tau Kappa sorority. She met a young Army man, Denman Bryant Langford, who crooned Frank Sinatra’s “That Old Black Magic” to her. She married that young man, who she called “the love of my life” at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church on August 26, 1955. They were married for 58 years prior to his death in 2013. Their marriage brought four children. She was a lifetime resident of Walnut Grove, leaving only for a few months in 1991 when she lived in Houston, Texas with her husband while he awaited a heart transplant. Ann was an accomplished musician, playing the piano, organ, steel guitar, the harp and accordion. She taught numerous children and adults how to play the piano, organ and accordion, teaching private lessons in her home. She also taught music at Lon Morris Junior College in Jacksonville, Texas. She played the piano at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church and both piano and organ at First Baptist Church in Whitehouse for most of her adult life. She provided music for numerous weddings and funerals over the years. She read music by sight and delighted her children with her renditions of “The Chattanooga Shoeshine Boy” and “The St. Louis Blues” on piano and “Lady of Spain” on the accordion. Ann worked for the U.S. Postal Service in Whitehouse from 1964 – 1980. She also designed and drew over 250 house plans for her husband’s clients at Langford Builder’s Supply who were seeking to build their dream homes. Her creativity was boundless. She was a wonderful cook, a talented oil painter, and an excellent seamstress. She loved any adventure including taking a turn at parasailing, assisting in landing an airplane and building her own antique car. Education was very important to Ann and her husband. In addition to educating their four children throughout their college years they fostered and helped educate many other young people who sought educations beyond high school. The City of Whitehouse honored Ann and Bryant in 2009 by naming them “Mr. and Mrs. Yesteryear” for their years of service to the City and its citizens. Ann’s most important endeavors were to be “the best daughter, the best sister, the best wife and best mother I could be”. Through these endeavors she excelled and was a mother figure to many people. Proverbs 31:28 perfectly described Ann: “Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.” She remained a beautiful, dignified woman throughout her lifetime. Her father had encouraged her to “always be a lady” which was what she strived to be every day. She was preceded in death by her husband. Denman Bryant Langford; her mother, Louise Beatrice Miller Morrow; her father, Henry Edgar Morrow; and her sister, Dolly Ethel Morrow. She is survived by her son, David Bryant Langford of Dallas; her daughters, Dr. Ginga Ann Langford of Dallas, Dr. Teri Elizabeth Langford and Nancy Marie Keeney of Carrollton, and Tulisha Louise Langford Buchanan of Fort Worth; and her grandchildren, Stephen Bryant Buchanan of Austin, and Lillian Ann Elyse Buchanan of Fort Worth. Funeral Services will be at 1:00 PM on Friday, May 27, 2016, at Stewart Family Funeral Home with Pastors Sherman Mayfield and Bennie Portwood officiating. Pallbearers will be Johnny Lewis, Cary Nix, Jessie Rodriguez, Ricky Shubert, Tony Stanley and Christopher Witt. Honorary pallbearers will be Epifanio Carrillo, Bill Portwood, Kenneth Stanley and Billy Witt. Burial will follow at Whitehouse Cemetery in Whitehouse under the direction of Stewart Family Funeral Home. The family will receive friends at Stewart Family Funeral Home, 7525 Old Jacksonville Highway on Thursday, May 26, 2016 from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. The family requests that memorials be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis TN 38105 or The Hospice of East Texas Foundation, 4111 University Blvd., Tyler, TX 75701, or a charity of your choice. The family wishes to especially thank their cousins Theresa Rains and Sandra Young who lovingly cared for their mother and for them. They would also like to extend special thanks to Betty Stanley of Whitehouse, Kevin DeCloux of Dallas and Steve Larsen of Dallas. “Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.” Proverbs 31:31.

Ann Langford

October 11, 1933 - May 21, 2016