Joan C. Lange

1931 - 2023

Joan C. Lange
7-12-23
Joan Clara Lange, children's librarian and 35-year resident of Easton, CT, died peacefully at home on Cape Cod July 12, following several years of declining health. She was 92. Joan was born April 8, 1931, in Queens, New York, to William and Antonie Jung, who immigrated from Germany on the eve of World War I. She lost her mother when she was eight. She hoped to go to Juilliard after high school-she studied piano for years-but froze during the audition. Instead, she went to work as a secretary at an advertising agency in Manhattan. She met Alfred Lange (Buddy), "the man of my life," through a Presbyterian church youth group. They married in May of 1950, shortly before the Korean War broke out. Al was drafted. When he got out of the Army, the couple moved to Champaign-Urbana, where Al studied architecture at the University of Illinois and Joan worked at an ad firm. Their first child, Andrew, was born in July of 1957. They moved to Connecticut for Al to take a job in Bridgeport.
In 1959, their second child, Adam, was born and they built and moved into a house in Easton. Their third child, Karen, was born in 1962. Joan was active in the Congregational Church of Easton and volunteered with the Easton Public Library, the Easton Democratic Town Committee and the Easton Human Relations Committee, which worked to bring black and white children together. When Karen started kindergarten, Joan went back to school to become an elementary school librarian. Starting in 1972, she worked for 20 years in the Stamford Public Schools system. In 1994, Joan and Al retired to Cape Cod. They built a house in Brewster, MA, where they hosted their children and grandchildren over many summers. Joan worked part-time at the Brewster Library until she was 80.
Joan is survived by her children Adam Lange of Palm Coast, FL, and Karen (Stuart Gagnon) Lange of Takoma Park, MD, her daughter-in-law Frances Arnold of La Canada, CA, her grandchildren Cody (Kelsi) Lange, Joe Lange, Jeremy Gagnon, Max (Kylie) Lange and Caroline Gagnon, and her great-grandson Luke Lange. She was predeceased by her husband, her son, Andrew, and her grandson, William Lange. A memorial service is scheduled for October 21, at noon, in the Congregational Church of Easton (336 Westport Road, Easton, CT), with a reception after in the church hall. Donations in Joan's memory may be made to the Congregational Church of Easton (send check to P.O. Box 37, Easton, CT 06612) or to the Andrew E. Lange Memorial Science Scholarship Fund, which pays for an annual award to a senior at Joel Barlow High School in Redding (send check made out to Fairfield County's Community Foundation, with fund named in memo line, to FCCF, 40 Richards Ave., Norwalk, CT 06854).
Visit www.dignitymemorial.com for a full obituary.