David Wendell Langdon

David Wendell Langdon, age 80, of Hamilton, was liberated to Heaven on Thursday, March 25, 2021, after a long and full life of loving his neighbor as himself. 

David was born in Hartford City, Indiana on August 18, 1940, the youngest of four brothers, to the late Mark and Murl Langdon. He married Margaret Jane Retherford in 1961, had daughters, Ann Margaret, and Sherry Jo. They lived on a farm in Blackford County, Indiana until moving to Hamilton.

Dave studied and worked in mechanical and machine designing, and in 1970, the family moved to Hamilton, Ohio and he accepted a position with Force Control Industries. Over 46 years, Dave worked as Design Engineer and Company Pilot, retiring from Force Control in 2016.

Dave loved to fly airplanes. He first learned on a dirt runway, near the farm in Indiana, and earned his license in Hamilton. His pride and joy was his Beech Bonanza that accommodated company travel as well as family vacations, day-trips with his grandson, and thrill rides for his nieces and nephews. Everyone got an airplane ride. When he “buzzed” the house, you knew to run outside. With the second pass, he would dip the wings up and down, to wave “hello.” Once, when his daughter, Sherry’s car needed a battery replacement, Dave flew up to her college in Bowling Green, Ohio, and replaced it himself, rather than pay the excessive price the local mechanic had quoted! 

After 56 years of marriage, Margaret went to be with the Lord. After a time, at the prodding of mutual friends from church, Dave began to check-in on the recently widowed wife of a long-time friend. The two found much in common, and a friendship blossomed. When Mae Miller started adding breakfast to the Sunday check-ins, well, let’s just say, she knew the way to this man’s heart.

Dave and Mae were married in August 2019. Mae brought so much joy to Dave. Whether it was traveling, enjoying church or their families, or just doing a puzzle together, they cherished time together—a very good thing, since half of their marriage was under lockdowns! 

Dave was a fixer. He’d find solutions for problems, and he was genius at it. One day, there was a design issue at work that he was struggling to resolve. He couldn’t figure it out, and he had the thought, “God, this is your creation, and you know what we need to do with it. Show me how to fix this, Lord.” He went to sleep, and the next morning, he had the details of a design in his head that revolutionized the issue. The new design was patented and touted as the most reliable system available—it became the new standard. 

Dave loved going to church and was a dedicated member of the Christian community in Hamilton, active in Full Gospel Businessmen’s Fellowship and faithfully attended a morning men’s prayer group for many years. He loved to pray for people—loved adding needs to his list for the prayer group, and then sharing testimonies of answers to prayer. He prayed for his family, checked in with his children and grandchildren often, via calls and texts. Sam’s wife, Julie, said, “I don’t think I have ever been so faithfully and continually prayed for in my whole life.” 
He was diligent in helping others—tireless and generous with his time and abilities. He reached so many neighbors, friends, friends of friends, single mothers, servers at restaurants, the person next to him in line.  His grandson, Sam, said some of his best memories as a child were going with his papaw to help people. “He’d get a phone call and say, ‘Come on, let’s get my tool kit!’ He would help people with anything. Most days, I loved it. And if I didn’t, he’d drag me along anyway.” 

Everyone loved Dave. He was generous and gentle and chose to see the good in people and in every situation. He always had a project he was researching, fixed anything that needed fixing, made a tidal wave in the pool with his cannon ball, spiked the volleyball without leaving the ground, and would go into his favorite Charlie Weaver skit, on demand – “I got a letter from Mama...”  

He was the dad who took his girls to church on Sunday and made their breakfasts and got them off to school each morning. Ann always shared his love for the local church, his heart for giving, and his devotion to Samuel. He walked with Sherry down the aisle when she accepted Jesus, and again to give her away on her wedding day. He loved that Steve was a pilot and faithfully followed his flights on radar. Hannah was his hearts delight. She said, “I remember as a little girl, I loved to follow him around because he knew where all the candy stashes were. And as an adult, I always knew he was there for me—even though we were far apart. I have seen the answers to so many of his prayers for me.” 
Mae says, “I’d tell him, David, you’re the smartest guy I ever knew, and he’d always say, ‘It’s Jesus.’” 

David is survived by his wife, Mae Miller Langdon; daughters Ann Langdon and Sherry (Stephen) Mollick; grandchildren, Samuel (Julie) and Hannah; his brother, Donald Langdon.

David was preceded in death by his wife, Margaret Jane Retherford Langdon; his brothers, Edsel “Zeke” Langdon and Richard “Sam” Langdon; and an infant sister, Mary Jo.

Visitation will be held on Tuesday, March 30, 2021 from 5:00 PM until the time of his Funeral Service at 7:00 PM at Grace Pointe Church, 3727 Oxford Millville Rd, Oxford, Ohio. Burial will take place on Wednesday, March 31, 2021 at 2:00 PM at Vinson Memorial Cemetery in Summitville, Indiana. Arrangements entrusted to Brown Dawson Flick Funeral Home of Hamilton, Ohio and Owens-Noffze Funeral Home of Summitville, Indiana. 

Please click the link to view the live stream service: https://youtu.be/yUHZctwNqXo

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