GORDON LANG
VISITING HOURS
Friday, June 9
5-8pm
Furber & White Funeral Home
&
MEMORIAL SERVICE
Saturday, June 10
10am
Jackson Community Church
Immediately followed by
Jackson Village Cemetery
graveside service
Biography:
Gordon Wheeler Lang, 87, of Jackson and Great East Lake, Wakefield, died Saturday, May 20, at Golden View Health Care Center in Meredith, after a period of declining health due to COVID-19. Gordon was surrounded by his family throughout the last week of his life.
Gordon was born in Wolfeboro, on Aug. 19, 1935. He was the oldest child of the late Joseph W. and B. Katherine (Wheeler) Lang. While Gordon was born in New Hampshire, his parents soon moved to Abington, Massachusetts. Gordon spent summers and vacations with both sets of his grandparents in Wakefield, Sanbornville and Brookfield, helping his grandfathers around their farms. This is when he first developed a love for trains, and he would help his grandfather flag the trains through the downtown Sanbornville crossing. That Flag Station would later be bought by his grandmother and moved to Great East Lake to become the center of The Lang Camp. Gordon enjoyed summertime at the lake since 1947.
Gordon attended school in Abington, Massachusetts, and graduated from Abington High School in 1953. He was involved with the Boy Scouts and Grange. Gordon enlisted in the U.S. Army. After basic training, he was stationed in Japan from 1955-57 providing support for building runways for the Air Force. He was honorably discharged from the army in Jan. 1958, and honorably discharged from the U.S. Army Reserves on Jan. 31, 1963. Gordon received the Good Conduct Medal for his service.
While spending time at Great East Lake during the summer of 1959, he met his future wife, Eleanor J. Davis. They began their married life in Brockton, Massachusetts, but decided to move back to her hometown of Jackson in 1963. Gordon worked in the Valley for the rest of his life. He worked for Yield House Furniture as the quality control manager until they closed. After Yield House closed he was an EMT for North Conway Ambulance. He then worked with the Hartmanns to establish the Hartmann Model Railroad & Museum.
All the while he continued to work at the Conway Scenic Railroad from its beginnings until the Fall of 2019. While driving home from work in 1972, Gordon thought he saw a light on in the North Conway Roundhouse. The next day, when he returned from investigating, he was even more excited to share that Dwight Smith was planning on opening a scenic railroad. From then on, weekends and vacations, Gordon could be found volunteering and then working at the railroad even throughout his “retirement” years. He started out as a trainman, fireman, and moved to conductor, but kept requesting to be trained as an engineer.
Gordon was 69 years old when he got the call to see if he wanted to train to be an engineer. Gordon loved being a train engineer, he loved training and mentoring new engineers, and it was always a great day if he had someone riding in the engine with him. Gordon was also active in forming the North Conway Model Railroad Club and was a member for the rest of his life. Some of the first meetings were held at his house with his layout.
Gordon also served his community in many other ways. He became a member of the Jackson Fire Department in 1966, and never retired, but did stop responding to active calls. Gordon spent 42 years with NH Forest Service, the majority as the Jackson forest fire warden. After taking a course with Otto Ninow, he helped him do his yearly first aid courses for ski patrol and ambulance members. In 1982, Gordon joined as an original member of the Bartlett-Jackson Ambulance, until 2022 and he was also an instructor for many years at SOLO of Conway. Gordon was a long term member of the Glen Grange and Mount Washington Valley Stompers. In addition, for a decade, Gordon was an Auxiliary Marine Patrol member at Great East Lake. He was a member of the Great East Lake Improvement Association for over 40 years.
While Gordon was involved with many different activities, he tried to make any events that were near to support his grandchildren, whom he was incredibly proud of. There were few people that did not hear about what Christopher, Courtney, Adam, and Caitlyn were doing from the time they were born. Amazingly, all his great-grandchildren love trains, so it appears that his love of trains will live on.
Gordon was predeceased by his beloved wife of 38 years, Eleanor “Ellie” (Davis) Lang; his parents, Joseph W. and B. Katherine (Wheeler) Lang; his companion of 24 years, Vivian Eastman; his brother, Robert W. Lang; his sister and brother-in-law, Beatrice (Bright) and Robert D. Davis; his sister-in-law, Carmen (Davis) Knapp and her husband, Richard Knapp; his brother-in-law, Jimmie A. Larkin Sr.; his foster brother, Fred Miller; his nephews, Robert “Bobby” Knapp and Randy Davis; and his great-granddaughter, Parker Marie Baldwin.
He is survived by his daughters, Kathleen “Kathy” (Lang) McKay and her husband Ron of East Wakefield, and Debra “Debbie” (Lang) Crowther and her husband Kenny of Jackson. Gordon’s legacy will live on with the younger members of his family, including his grandson, Christopher J. McKay and his wife Ashley (Lizotte) McKay and their children Mya Eleanor and Maverick John McKay of East Wakefield; Courtney Elizabeth (McKay) Smith and her husband Joshua E. Smith and their sons Landon John and Weston Davis Smith of Bennington; Caitlyn Mary (McKay) and her husband Robert S. Baldwin and their son, Lincoln John Baldwin of Dover; and Dr. Adam Charles Crowther of Pittsboro, North Carolina.
He also leaves his sister, Marcia Katherine (Lang) Larkin of Pottsboro, Texas; his foster sister, Dorothy (Miller) Magoon of Northboro, Massachusetts; his nieces, Rebecca “Becky” (Knapp) Keyes of Center Tuftonboro, Dawn Marie (Larkin) Briggs of Waseca, Minnesota, Maureen (Davis) Kermode of Vernon, Connecticut, Tanya Lang of Palmer, Arkansaw, and April (Lang) Musick of Seattle, Washington; his nephews, Dean R. Davis of Jackson, Rick Davis of Jackson, Warren Larkin of Pottsboro, Texas, and Sam Lang.
The family would like to thank the staff at Golden View Health Care Center for the loving care that they provided for Gordon. His family would also like to express their appreciation and thanks to Compassus Hospice Care of Bedford, especially Kaylee, for their support during the last month of his life.
Family and friends will gather to honor and remember Gordon on Friday, June 9, from 5 to 8 p.m., at the Furber & White Funeral Home, 2925 White Mountain Hwy, North Conway.
His memorial service will be on Saturday, June 10, at 10 a.m., at the Jackson Community Church, 127 Main St., Jackson. There will be a graveside service immediately after the service at the Jackson Village Cemetery, Mill Street, Jackson.
In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Gordon may be made to Bartlett-Jackson Ambulance Services, 90 US-302, Glen, NH 03838; Jackson Firefighter’s Association, 54 Main St., Jackson, NH 03846; or Great East Lake Improvement Association, P.O. Box 911, Sanbornville, NH 03872.
ED GOOD
CELEBRATION of LIFE
Sunday, June 11
1-3pm
Great Glen South Field (white tent)
- Sandwiches and salads served. Bring your own beverages.
- RSVP via email to his family.
Biography:
C. Edward Good of Jackson, N.H., and formerly of Lexington, Mass., died on Jan. 26, 2023.
He was the beloved husband of the late Rosemary (Dentino) and loving father of Andrew and his wife, Laura Good, of Mooresville, N.C.; Michael and his wife, Therese Good, of Wilmington, Mass.; Sally and her husband, Barry Neal, of Bedford, Mass.; and Robert and his wife, Jeannie Good, of Cary, N.C. Loving grandfather of James, Bobby, Alyson, Gregory, Melissa, Brian, Amanda, Colleen, Heather and Robyn. He is also survived by a sister Donna Paradis and her husband, Brian; sister-in-law Margareth; and stepsons, Jeff Hayes and Scott Hayes.
Edward graduated from Brandeis University in the class of 1960 on a full basketball scholarship. He earned master’s degrees in mathematics, education, and computer science and made is career as a high school teacher at Lexington (Mass.) High School.
Upon retirement, he lived his dream with his wife Rosemary in Jackson, N.H. He was an avid outdoorsman and expert wood turner. He did it his way.
Private funeral arrangements through Shawsheen Funeral Home in Bedford, Mass.