John Langs

John David Langs of Islamorada, FL Keys died quietly the morning of June 14, 2017 in his Florida Keys Home, while in the loving care of his wife, Ruth Gilmore Langs. John succumbed to severe symptoms of Lyme Disease, which he and Ruth had been courageously battling. John is believed to have caught lyme while clearing the family land along the Huron River in Michigan. Married in 1984, John and Ruth raised two great kids, Henry and Grace Langs currently of Ann Arbor, Michigan and Islamorada, Florida. All the while the Lang's family has been surrounded by wild and wooly Norwich Terriers under their four-legged patriarch Web, and their newest breed golden doodles. John was 57 and otherwise stout and healthy, born to Carol and Jack Langs of Battle Creek and Gull Lake Michigan. John's great grandfather was the founder of the Eckrich Meat Company. John is survived by his sister's Laura, Audrey and Cara and his brother Jeff, and their families. John attended Gull Lake High School, Gould Academy, and graduated from the Fountain Valley School in Colorado, before entering Kalamazoo College where he earned his bachelor's degree. John's beloved sport was sailing and swimming when he had to right his boat. He successfully sailed The Yonder 210 in many Gull Lake races along with his usual 1st Mate and occasionally his brother Jeff. He also sailed the Caribbean extensively. John was a dedicated husband to Ruth and father to their daughter Gracie and son Henry. He was cherished by numerous nieces and nephews who marveled at his many feats, such as swimming across the Delaware where President Washington ventured some 200 years earlier. John WON the President George Bush/Cheeca Lodge Bonefish Tournament in the mid 1990's, expertly angling to the 3-day tournament's largest bonefish. He humbly accepted the winning trophy, having "out fished" The President. John's career extended from moving frozen meat with a forklift at Eckrich Meats, the family's company, to politics, to commercial composting, and on to civic planning and real-estate development. He could often be seeing riding to work on his Harley Davidson "Fatboy". He was a highly competitive Member of The Flounders International Water Polo Team whose victorious way of winning has never been properly documented. John was Chairman of the Huron River Commission utilizing his considerable preservation talents and energy to help clean up the Huron River and protect it for future generations. After returning from the National Republican Congressional Committee position he held in Washington, D.C., John, always ahead of the times, foresaw large-scale composting of residential yard leaves as a viable business, completely refurbished and re-developed the town of Chelsea, Michigan and its immediate surroundings, began large-scale ground up demolition material re-use for down-trodden Detroit, and finally began a successful commercial building sales and property development enterprise in Islamorada and the Florida Keys with his partner Russ Post of Ocean Sotheby's. John has countless friends and family who've benefited from his willingness to be a positive force in their lives. He will be dearly missed and forever loved. Donations in John's honor may be made be made to the Liv Lyme Foundation for the benefit of children with lyme disease which helps to pay for their treatment @ http://livlymefoundation.org/.