Coping with Grief
We would like to offer our sincere support to anyone coping with grief. Enter your email below for our complimentary daily grief messages. Messages run for up to one year and you can stop at any time. Your email will not be used for any other purpose.
Richard "Dick" Lang, 84, passed away unexpectedly Tuesday, September 28, 2021 after a brief illness.
Dick was born and raised in Akron, Ohio and attended St. Matthew Grade School and graduated from St. Vincent High School in 1956. After graduating Dick planned to attend Dayton University, but applied and was hired by Ohio Edison. Dick was still able to get his business degree at The University of Akron while working full-time. While at Ohio Edison, he was in accounting/data processing. His title was Senior Accounting Operations Specialist when he retired after 38 years of service. He met his future wife, Shirley at Ohio Edison.
They had two children, Jim (deceased) and daughter Cindy Lang Pollard. Cindy and her husband Michael Pollard have given him three wonderful grandchildren: Nicole, Michael and Mackenzie.
Dick's family lived next door to St. Matthew Church in Ellet which influenced him very much. His upbringing and education in Catholic schools instilled in him a love for the church and what it stands for. His middle name should be "volunteer" because a good part of who he is and what he does is volunteer: whether going to meetings or doing whatever is asked of him for his church, family, or many of the organizations he belonged to through the years. A special focus has always been volunteering in organizations that benefit children as well as adults. Dick's heart and soul has always revolved around children and trying to make their world a little better.
At his current parish, Queen of Heaven, he is a Eucharistic Minister and has served as Business Manager of Parish Council, Finance Committees at different times and has always helped in the many fund-raisers and still serves at mass when asked. Dick's father passed away when Dick was only 22 years old. In his honor, Dick has been involved in the Knights of Columbus the same as his father was. He is a Fourth Degree Knight, and very involved in the activities of both the Third and Fourth Degree. He is currently the Grand Knight of Charles Reymann Council #4664 and past Faithful Navigator of Monsignor O'Keefe Assembly #0818.
Some of Dick's volunteering began back in 1965 with the Pee Wee and then Bantam Football programs that covered 10 years. This was just the beginning of many years of volunteering for youth sports. In 1967, he began volunteering with the Red Feather Agency that eventually evolved into the United Way. After 20 years of service with United Way, he was awarded the 2003 Distinguished Service Award. While living in Akron, he was on the Parks and Recreation Department Board for 20 years and was involved in the development of the new Firestone Softball Stadium. The year that First Night began, he joined right away to volunteer. He and his wife both volunteered for five years. After moving to the City of Green, he was active in Kiwanis and was on the board for the Parks and Recreation Department for 15 years. He received a Community Award for those many years of service.
While working at the Ohio Edison he began a 25-year career as a volunteer with the credit union. He was nominated by his peers in the Summit County Chapter for his dedication of time, effort and talent to credit unions and the credit union movement. He served as Director of the Ohio Edison Family Credit Union for 20 years. His involvement extended to the Summit Chapter in 1982; he also served the chapter as president for eight years. He was also a volunteer at the state level and served on the OCUL Executive Committee as secretary, second vice chair and first vice chair and on the board of directors of OCUL Services Corp. and Insurance Agency.
Volunteering with the credit unions is what led him to United Way, Akron Charities and The University of Akron. Dick was awarded the Volunteer of the Year Award in 1993 and that award is considered the highest honor for noble service to credit unions. Another area Dick is still active in is the Akron Touchdown Club honoring many student athletes in all sports and awarding scholarships. In 1987, the Touchdown Club honored him with the George Boss Youth Award for his years of commitment to the young people of this community. He also was awarded in 2003, The Summit County Sports Hall of Fame Andy Palich Memorial Service Award. Being an alumnus of Akron University, he belonged to the Varsity A Club and served on the Business Advisory Committee. He supports their sports programs by being a season ticket holder for most football and basketball programs.
Dick has been a volunteer for the Bridgestone/Firestone Tournament/World Series of Golf for 36 years and has served in many capacities. Chair of Security, Co-chair of Publicity, Chair and Co-chair of Emergency Action, Hospitality Committee are just some of the committees he has served on.
Dick still is very involved in the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO). Dating back to the 1980's, he has held many offices for both the CYO and the Catholic Social Services. He has been recently active with the committees that have been involved in the merging of the Catholic Social Services with CYO to become part of Catholic Charities in 2011. In 1984, CYO honored him with the Past President Award and he was enshrined in the CYO Hall of Fame for his many years of devotion and guided interest in the Summit County CYO. He is currently a commissioner for the CYO sports programs (some dating back to the '70's).
Anyone that knows Dick knows how proud he is of being a graduate of St. Vincent High School and an active member in the STVM community. He is known to be seen around town and even out of town wearing his shirts or caps identifying him with the school. For many years he has been volunteering for the school in different ways. He belongs to the Alumni Association and was part of the founding group, Booster Club, and Boarman Backers. He has helped support the school through fund-raisers and helps take ticket at the stadium or the gym for football or basketball. He has served on the Alumni Council and held various offices including Vice President.
Dick is thankful to his parents and his Catholic upbringing. Being brought up in a faith-rich environment surrounded by many members of the religious community are part of his fondest memories growing up.
Dick recalls his high school days fondly and mentioned the wonderful memories and the relationships built with the various religious individuals that added to his academic and spiritual growth: Fr. Frank LaRocco, Sr. Loretta, Sr. Bernard, Sr. Mary Jane, Sr. Bernice, and Sr. Imelda to name a few. Dick is proud to be a graduate of St. Vincent High School, enjoys being an active member of the STVM community. He was a 2010 recipient of the Fr. Mahar Outstanding Alumni Award.
In addition to his children and grandchildren, Dick is survived by his sister Dr. Jean LoIudice; sister-in-law Betty (Jim) Phares and many nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his beloved wife Shirley (Horvath); son; James Lang; parents Henry and Helen Lang; and siblings Rose McHaddon, Tim Lang and Paul Lang. The family is grateful to Dick's good friend, Phil Lombardo for his selfless care of and friendship with Dick over the years.
The family will receive friends Sunday, October 3, 2021, from 6 to 8 pm at the Anthony Funeral Home of Green, 4178 Massillon Rd., Uniontown (corner of Massillon and Steese Rds., entrance off Steese) where a Fourth Degree K of C Service will be held at 7:30pm. A mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Monday, October 4, 2021, at 10:00 am at Queen of Heaven Catholic Church, 1800 Steese Rd., Uniontown OH 44685. Interment St. Joseph Cemetery, Suffield. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Vincent St. Mary Athletic Department, 15 N Maple St, Akron, OH 44303.
To send flowers to the family, please visit our floral store.