Vernon Louis Langlinais

Published 12:00 am Sunday, May 2, 2021

Vernon was born November 2, 1926, in Lafayette and he died April 26, 2021, in Fort Worth, Texas at the age of 94. Vernon attended Cathedral High School in Lafayette, where he graduated as Valedictorian and received the prestigious American Legion award. He served in the U.S. Naval Reserve and was commissioned Ensign, USNR in 1946. While serving in the Navy, he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics from University of Pennsylvania and after completing his military service, earned a second Bachelor degree, a B.S. in Chemistry, while teaching Math as part of the Math Faculty at University of Louisiana at Lafayette (then Southwest Louisiana Industrial Institute). He was a member of the honor fraternity, Phi Kappa Theta.

Vernon was employed as a Computer Plotter in 1948 with American Exploration and then was hired as a Chemical Engineer by Morton Chemical Company in Weeks Island.

He married Ruby Landry, also from Lafayette, in 1949 and started a family in 1952. His career at Morton involved relocating his family from Weeks Island to Manistee, Michigan, a return to Weeks Island/New Iberia and then a transfer to Crystal Lake, Illinois, where he retired after over 42 years of service. During his career with Morton, he was awarded two United States Patents for chemical processing and distribution.

Outside of work, his interests included musical theatre, choral singing and directing, fishing, vegetable gardening, woodworking, tutoring and reading at church. During his tenure as choir director of the St. Nicholas Catholic Church Choir in Weeks Island, he recorded and released two albums of a-cappella choral music, which contained many pieces that he personally arranged for four-part harmony. In addition to music and choral direction, gardening was an important source of personal nourishment for him throughout his entire life. During his retirement, he became a Certified Master Gardener volunteer, training and assisting others in the science and art of gardening.

Vernon was devoted to his faith and his family and was a loving and generous father and grandfather. He will be deeply missed by his family.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Ruby Theresa Landry; his parents, Anna and Claude Joseph Langlinais Sr; his brother and his wife, Elaine and Claude Joseph (CJ) Langlinais Jr.; his four children, Norbert (Knobbie) Langlinais (wife, Pat) of Lafayette, Brian Langlinais of Spring, Texas, Toni Langlinais (husband, David McDaniel) of Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California and Claudia (Sue) Langlinais Holdridge (husband, James) of Fort Worth, Texas; and four grandchildren Aimee Langlinais Prudhomme and Jennifer Langlinais Rueda-Liy, both of Houston, Texas, and Barton and Allison Holdridge of Dallas, Texas, and College Station, Texas, respectively.

The family extends its gratitude to the caretakers who supported their father over the years and in his final days Bethesda Gardens in Fort Worth, Texas, his primary caregivers Legacy Healthcare, specifically Lori, Missy and Emily, St. Gabriel’s Hospice and Nurse Next Door.

Final arrangements for Vernon will be made by Thompson’s Harveson & Cole Funeral Home. The family will initially hold a private ceremony to honor his passing. Later this summer, Vernon and Ruby will be interred together at Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Lafayette, where they were married in 1949, followed by a celebration of their life with extended family, local relatives and friends.