I've never written anything for someone who has passed, but Martha Langford was perhaps my staunchest supporter during a time in my life when I was struggling, upset, and confused, and she deserves to have something memorializing her beautiful soul and brilliant mind. And so I will do my best to share some of the things about her that truly stood out to me.
I was a student of Ms. Langford’s while she was teaching English at Herndon High School. I fondly remember trekking up to her classroom for lunches, and staying after school to spend time with her. She made the best beef bisque I have ever eaten, and she frequently brought in tasty treats to share while we went over papers and lessons. I often spent lunch my off-day lunch hours in the room with her, and we joked and laughed over books and events in our lives. Even after I graduated, I spent the next few years coming back each summer to help her clean up from the school year. She is one of the few teachers I had that I honestly believed taught for the joy of teaching and helping students, and sought to improve the frequently stringent and uninspiring lesson plans, despite the ever closing jaws of politics crushing teachers' best efforts. She worked to get supplies for the entire English department, and was tireless in her effort to help struggling students in an area where there were many older children whose first language was not English.
Ms. Langford had a very long teaching career, which resulted in the coolest stash of old lesson plans and exams that I loved poking through while helping her pack and unpack her room before and after summer vacations. There was quite literally multiple generations of lesson plans from over her decades of teaching, and it was fascinating to peruse them while discussing how schools have changed over the years. Ms. Langford had an extremely witty sense of humor, and one she was more than happy to share even in class if a student asked the right questions.
I don't know much of her life outside of her work as a school teacher, but I do know she had horses at one point that she adored. She liked to keep plants, and had an unkillable pathos on the cabinet in her room that she would take trimmings from each summer to propagate in little jars of water to give to other teachers. She loved arts and crafts, and held on to the best of the projects students had done over the years. I particularly remember the "kid friendly" picture books of the Canterbury Tales students created to retell the stories with frequently hilarious adjustments to remove any questionable bits. There was also a collection of crochet projects, lace, and calligraphy she had gotten over the years that she displayed lovingly around the room. And I know that she was a loving daughter, caring for her own mother at home until she passed, with little support or thanks from her family. She was strong and kind, and I believe everyone should strive to be like her.
The things she taught, the stories she knew, and the wisdom she shared will always be important to me. I wish I had known her better, and one of my greatest regrets is losing contact with her only to discover she had passed away just months before I tried to find her again. And while I am sad that she is gone, I will always remember her with upmost fondness.
Thank you Ms. Langford, and may you rest in peace.