John Langston

John Herd Langston, Age 79 of Belle Deau, entered into eternal rest and peace on October 2, 2006 at 3 p.m. He was born on February 9, 1927 to the union of Herd Langston and Arlene Welborn. Having his father died before his birth, he was reared by his grandparents, whom he referred to as Mama and Papa Welborn in Boyce. At the age of 18, he enlisted into the United States Army on March 13, 1945. He was stationed in the Philippines during the majority of the time in which he served his country. He received his honorable discharge on January 26, 1947. Upon discharge, he received the Asiatic Pacific Campaign medal and the World War II Victory medal. After his discharge he returned home to Boyce and began working for Roy O. Martin Lumber Company. It was at this time he met the love of his life, Theresa Neucere. They were united in marriage on January 12, 1949. Through this union they were blessed with five children. During this time he began working for Nicklos Drilling Company. He started off as a roughneck, but after a lot of hard work, he eventually became a driller and tool pusher and retired in January 1982 as purchasing agent and warehouse manager. John was a devoted and active parishioner of St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church in Belle Deau. He served as Parish Council President for several years and held the presidential office for the church cemetery committee. He also was an usher for many years. Of all his organizations his favorite was the Molenschot Knights of Columbus Council 9217. During his membership he remained very active and held many different offices and had many accomplishments. With all of his hard work and dedication he and his wife received the KC Family of the Year award. In 2006 he was honored and received the KC of the Year award. John enjoyed camping, fishing and hunting. He was an avid deer hunter but his favorite was rabbit hunting with beagles. He also was a big sports fan. He enjoyed baseball, and football the most with his favorite teams being LSU, the New Orleans Saints, and the New York Yankees. He was preceded in death by his parents, Herd Langston and Arlene Smith; his son, John Ray Langston and 3 grandchildren, Carla Franks, Casey Franks and Lil Bruce Franks. John will always be remembered as a loving husband, father and friend to many. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Theresa Neucere Langston of Belle Deau; 1 son James Langston of Marksville; 3 daughters, Bernadette Franks and husband James of Echo, Gwen Franks and husband Bruce of Hessmer and Johnette Lemoine and husband Peter of Belle Deau; one halfbrother, Hewitt Smith of Brandon, Mississippi; 13 grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren. Friends may call at Escude Funeral Home Mansura, on Tuesday, October 3, 2006 from 3 p.m. until time of services Wednesday at 10 a.m. Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, October 4, 2006 at St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church, Belle Deau with Rev. Edwin Rodriguez officiating . Interment will be in the church cemetery under the direction of Escude Funeral Home. Pallbearers will be Jory Franks, Jared Franks, Joshua Franks, Johnny Langston, Jamie Armand and Clint Barr. Lane Franks will be crossbearer and Monica Armand will serve as Lector.