Rita was my aunt, my Mom's sister and just now learning that she has passed.  My earliest memory was staying with her at her house across the street from us at the time when my Mom gave birth to my brother.

She was always a strong, confident woman even before that was socially acceptable; probably got that from her Mom, Bertine, who was the same way.   Bertine ruled the roost, as did Rita, Bertine's first born.

When I was in college and beyond, when she was visiting my Grandma, she always tried to encourage me to continue to pursue my passions...she had a booming voice and even today I can still hear her in my head.  She was and probably still is the smartest and most confident woman I have ever known.

My Mom always felt she lived in Rita's shadow as she was the second born and more of a shy, retiring person.   She used to blame Rita not being able go to college because she didn't want to take money away from the family, but found after my Mom died paperwork in her high school diploma where she had been offered a full financial scholarship to Ball State University where Rita had gone.  I could only be left to guess that she felt she could never complete with Rita.

When my Mom passed away, I was not only surprised that she showed up, but we all went out to eat at a local restaurant and she paid for EVERYONE in the that had been in attendance at the funeral that showed up and it was almost the entire restaurant and had to have cost a fortune.  When I thanked her for coming and asked why she had done so, she replied "Of course I would, why not?".   

I still can only aspire to be more like her.

Rita helped me through some of the most difficult times of my life, and I will never forget her.

Sent a gift in memory of Lorita"Rita" S. Langdon

Lit a candle in memory of Lorita"Rita" S. Langdon

I will always be grateful to Rita Langdon for taking a chance in hiring me, a graduate student with a master's degree but no teaching experience. I learned everything about teaching at Columbus State, and she was always there to help. That was 33 years ago, and I am still teaching at Columbus State.

I succeeded Rita as the Chair of the Communication Skills Department at Columbus State, and in the 18 years I served in that role I came to appreciate the solid foundation she had built for the department before I arrived.  Rita also taught in the department for another 13 years after stepping down as chair, so I had the daily opportunity to observe her interaction with students. Rita was a character, in the best sense of someone who is memorable for her character, her individuality and her personality traits. She was irrepressible, had the courage of her convictions, was outspoken about her beliefs, and generous. She was also extraordinarily hard working. She consistently taught the maximum number of hours allowed by the college every year and consistently taught filled classes. That meant she consistently taught more students every year than any other faculty member in the department. Because she chose to teach only writing courses, which by themselves require long hours of correcting students’ papers, her workload was incredible, and I never knew how she could keep at it. Equally remarkable was the fact that Rita was beloved by those thousands of students she taught. Every quarter, former students of Rita would come to her office to chat, to ask for advice about a job, to have her read their revised resumes, or to have her write a letter of recommendation for them. She delighted in their visits, even though it nearly always meant more work for her and increased demands on her time. In short, Rita loved teaching, loved her students, and they loved her in return. She will be remembered for a long time by those thousands of students and by her colleagues with whom she worked.

Sandy, Sally, Sue, Bob, Sam + Robert, Thoughts and prayers are with your family

Sandy, 
My heart and prayers go out to you, Robert, Sally and the rest of your family. I have very fond memories of your mother trying to keep us in-line as teenagers, we didn't make her job easy at times. She was a wonderful lady.
Linda Pyers (Donahue)

OBITUARY

Lorita"Rita" S. Langdon

July 2, 1931 – February 6, 2010

Schoedinger Midtown

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