Longtime Magnolia resident Marion Elizabeth Langstaff passed away April 19 in Seattle.
She was 81.
Born Jan. 26, 1926, in Littleton, Mass., to George and Grace Ford, she was the youngest of three children. She went on to become valedictorian of her high school class of 1943. During World War II she went to work for Raytheon Radiation Laboratory in Waltham, Mass., where she was involved in the testing process of radar. Subsequently she attended the Lowthorpe School of Landscape Architecture, soon to merge with the Rhode Island School of Design, where she earned a bachelor's degree in landscape architecture. This was followed by a master's degree in city and regional planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
In 1951 Marion Ford came to Seattle, where she began her career as an urban planner for the Seattle City Planning Commission and later with King County Planning; she would retire in 1975. While employed by King County, she worked on school and park planning and the Comprehensive Plan for the county. Her contributions as an urban planner are still with us today in the form of the initial planning for many park and greenbelt areas throughout King County.
It was also in 1951, at a Pacific Northwest Cycling Association meeting, that she met Russell Langstaff, who was showing slides of his bicycle trip around Europe. Married in 1952, the couple raised three children.
In addition to bicycling, Mrs. Langstaff and her family were active in camping, hiking and traveling throughout North America, Europe and New Zealand. She loved gardening, wildflowers, birds and the outdoors. Mrs. Langstaff was active in the Audubon Society and the Nature Conservancy, and her environmental interests led her to advocate and practice conservation and recycling efforts long before such efforts became common.
A love of music led her to sing or play the violin, piano or accordion with her family, and play the violin with her husband in the Seattle Senior Musicians Orchestra. Together, Russ and Marion worked on the family genealogy dating back to the founding colonies of the early 1600s.
A few of Mrs. Langstaff's many volunteer activities included being a board member with the local YMCA, cleanup of forest service campgrounds with the National Campers and Hikers Association, being chairman of The Mountaineers' Retired Rovers, aiding in establishment of the Iron Goat Trail with the Volunteers of Outdoor Washington and helping in the visitor center at Discovery Park. As a senior, she tutored kids through the Seattle School District's SPICE program. Marion Langstaff was always ready to help those in need.
A stroke in late 2000 confined her to a wheelchair. But her devoted husband, Russ, managed to take care of her at home the next four years. She enjoyed their daily trips to a local park or senior center. A broken hip forced her to stay in a nursing home the last two years of her life, and it was there that she passed away due to pneumonia.
Mrs. Langstaff is remembered as a devoted wife and mother who exhibited great patience, wisdom and strength. She had the ability to see the positive in any situation and show others the way. She was always there for her family, whether it was cooking dinner, training a child, lending a listening ear or giving wise advice. Her words were few but carried a lot of weight. Her attentive, calm and guiding presence will never be forgotten.
Survivors include her husband of 55 years, Russell Langstaff, of Seattle; son Charles Langstaff and his wife Lisa and son Jeremy, of Fall City; daughter Beverly Whippo, of North Bend; and son Ronald Langstaff and his wife Debbie and daughters Lindsay and Ava, of Aurora, Ill.; as well as many extended family members.[[In-content Ad]]
