Centre County woman killed in fire remembered by family as loving, kind and religious
A Centre County woman killed in a house fire was remembered Tuesday by her family as a loving, kind and a deeply religious born-again Christian who always looked for the good in people.
Patricia A. “Patti” Langham, 78, of Unionville, would often tell her loved ones everything would be all right. No matter the situation, she was confident they would be able to work through it somehow.
“Everybody needs to realize there’s so many good people and so much good in the world that we need to start focusing on that and not all the negative,” her daughter Brenda J. Holderman told the Centre Daily Times. “It’s incredible to us the love and support from so many people.”
Langham died last week after her home caught fire on Apple Street in Unionville, and the cause remains unknown. A message was left Tuesday with state police at Rockview.
She was a mother of four, had nine grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren. She was married 58 years to her husband, Theodore “Ted” Langham Jr., who Holderman said remains grief-stricken.
A Bald Eagle Area High School alumna, she went on to work as a part-time licensed practical nurse (LPN) at what is now Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Nittany Valley before becoming a stay-at-home mom.
She was also a preschool teacher at the Centre County Christian Academy and a life member of the Berean Bible Fellowship Church in Unionville.
“She had a true love for people,” Holderman said. “She was so good with the kids and so good with the families.”
Langham loved reading, shopping and looking for deals at yard sales. When she came home, her loved ones knew every cup holder would likely be filled.
Lemonade, especially from Chick-fil-A, and smoothies from Sheetz were her favorites.
“When we were out and about, we always had a drink,” Holderman said. “They would always make fun of us because we’d come home and we always had about six cups in the car because we always had to have a drink.”
The blaze that killed Langham began about 12:30 p.m. last Thursday along the 300 block of Apple Street in tiny Unionville. The Langhams’ home was also destroyed by the fire. Her cause and manner of death are pending, Centre County Deputy Coroner Debra Smeal said.
Two separate neighbors described the Langhams as “great people,” one of whom also said they did not want to look at the burned home because “it’s emotional.”
“I feel horrible for them,” one woman who declined to provide her name said. “It’s just devastating.”
As Langham’s family copes with her sudden death, Holderman said they have found comfort in each other and that she appeared to be at peace in the hours before the fire. She said they had the “best morning together” before the fire began.
Holderman brought spaghetti over to her mother’s house, got her drinks, and the two read four chapters of a book together. As Ted returned home and Holderman prepared to leave, Langham was asleep — peacefully.
“She was sleeping so peaceful. It’s the most peaceful I’ve seen her sleep in so long,” Holderman said. “I just feel like that was a gift from God because my last memory with her was precious. It was just so good.”
Ted is grieving “very, very heavily” and misses his wife terribly, Holderman said. She believes he is still in shock as he occasionally expresses regret over what he could have or should have done — something she said is a needless endeavor.
“They needed each other and that’s just kind of the way they did it,” Holderman said through tears.
A page on the fundraising site GoFundMe raised more than $4,000 for the family as of Tuesday afternoon. The page sought donations to help Ted with necessities, clothing and more. Nearly 60 people donated.
The support, Holderman said, has been overwhelming. When she told her father about the support, she said he wept.
“He said ‘I just can’t believe the love people are showing me through all this.’ It’s just been so devastating,” Holderman said. “You just don’t realize how many good people there are in the world. I think we focus sometimes on the negative and we forget about all the good and all the positive stuff.
“That’s been really good for my dad because this is a tragedy that you never think you’re going to go through and it’s like you don’t even begin to know how to get through it. When you have love and support like that, it just means so much.”
Langham is also survived by her sister. Visitation is scheduled to begin 10 a.m. Thursday at the Berean Bible Fellowship Church.