Col. Derwent Langley, Jr.

Col. Derwent Langley, Jr., 87, passed away on August 7, 2018 in Marietta, Georgia. A Funeral Service will be held at 4:00 p.m. on August 10th at Eastside Baptist Church in Marietta. Interment will be a private service at Georgia National Cemetery. Derwent Langley, Jr. was born September 11th, 1930 to Derwent and Hattie Rhodes Langley. His father was a dairy farmer and Langley, who was very active in the 4H club, would rise early to complete his chores on the farm before catching a ride into town to attend Academy of Richmond County (ARC). As a junior at ARC he was a key member of the Musketeers 1947 team. Playing in a backfield with ARC greats Billy Beale and Jimmy Cooper, he helped lead the Musketeers to one of their finest seasons in history. The team, coached by Roy Rollins, advanced to the state championship game against powerful Lanier High School from Macon. The two teams had met in the regular season, playing to a 0-0 tie and they again played to a tie in the championship game 6-6. A late penalty cost ARC a penetration inside the Lanier 20-yard line and Lanier was awarded the Championship by virtue of the tie-breaking “penetration point system”. Langley was selected to the Georgia All-State team both as a junior and again in his senior year. In addition, he was chosen All-Southern following his senior year. But football wasn’t the only sport in which he excelled – playing on Coach Langston Bolton’s ARC track team, Langley was the State Champion in both the shot put and the broad jump with a jump of 20 feet 2 inches. He also threw the javelin and discus and ran in several of the running events to help gain points for the team. The university of Georgia thought so highly of Langley that he was offered a scholarship after his junior year of high school. He enrolled at UGA in January of 1949 and was a two-sport star for the Bulldogs. In football he began as a fullback but after injuries forced him to miss the 1951 season Coach Wally Butts switched him to center and linebacker at the beginning of the 1952 season. His senior year he was elected co-captain of the team along with future NFL quarterback Zeke Bratkowski. After graduation in 1953 he was called to active duty in the U.S. Air Force, the beginning of a thirty-year career. He reported immediately to flight school in Bainbridge, Georgia and in his first year he was named “Cadet of the Year”. During Vietnam War Langley piloted the C-130 Hercules. Flying out of Clark Field in the Philippines he delivered supplies to various bases throughout South Vietnam and then flew the wounded and deceased back to the Philippines for transport back to the states. After completing a two-year assignment at the Pentagon in Washington D.C., Colonel Langley was transferred to Dobbins Air Force Base to be the Senior Advisor to all the Reservist East of the Mississippi River. Following that assignment, he was promoted to Chief of Staff of the 14th Air Force also known as the “Flying Tigers”. Colonel Langley retied from Dobbins in 1984. After retirement he continued to fly – piloting a Twin Cessna for the University of Georgia from 1988 to 1994. He flew coaches and school officials to various recruiting trips and speaking engagements around the state and the nation. One of his frequent passengers was UGA head football coach Vince Dooley. Their paths had crossed years before when Dooley was a defensive back for Auburn and Langley played for Georgia. Langley married Sally Tucker from Tifton, Georgia in 1953 and together they raised two boys, Derwent and Judson and one girl, Elizabeth. Sally, his wife was killed in a car accident in 1995 and Langley remained in Marietta until his passing enjoying his last several years with his three children, four grandchildren and five great grandchildren. Col. Langley was a pillar of his community involved in many worthy causes including being a 32-degree Mason and a longtime member of the Marietta Kiwanis Club. Langley was a strong Christian man who provided a very nice home for his family and was a constant role model of what a true man of God should be. The Colonel will be greatly missed by all. The family will receive friends from 2:00 p.m. till 4:00 p.m. on Friday, August 10th at Eastside Baptist Church. In Lieu of Flowers contributions can be made to Alzheimers Research 225 N. Michigan Ave., Fl. 17, Chicago, IL 60601 in honor of Col. Derwent Langley.

Col. Derwent Langley, Jr.

September 11, 1930 - August 7, 2018