David Peter Langlois

David Peter Langlois was born in Hartford, CT, the son of two French-speaking immigrant parents from Quebec. In a bustling, little yellow home on Hillside Avenue, David grew up the true middle child of five, his father working as small machine technician, and his mother a waitress at the local country club. David developed a morning routine and a strong work ethic early, holding multiple paper routes and a variety of summer jobs. He proudly attended the oldest public high school in the United States, Hartford Public High School, and never tired of pointing out that his two older siblings had graduated first and third in their respective classes.

His parents, who completed only high school, valued education deeply and sacrificed a great deal to ensure the five kids went to college. David never told his parents that he had earned admission to Brown University, choosing instead to attend Providence College because of a scholarship he received. There he thrived as a math and education major and had accepted a job to be a math teacher upon graduation. On a dare from his roommates, David took the "law boards" and scored higher than either of them, at which point they convinced him to go to law school. He graduated from Columbus School of Law at Catholic University in 1970, having served as an editor of the Law Review.

David was born to be a lawyer. He began his career as a first-year associate at Dewey Ballantine. There he met a few young, dynamic associates who convinced him to leave the established firm and help found their own, Milgrim Thomajan. As the seventh lawyer to join, David helped grow the firm to an influential, multi-national law firm with hundreds of attorneys - the period he described to many as the most fun of his 45-year career. He became a known expert in international commodity trade litigation and arbitration and maritime law, representing major corporations, private companies and proudly mentoring many, many young lawyers along the way. David routinely arrived at his desk by 7am in order to have a few hours of "quiet work time" before the office got busy, as he believed deeply in an open-door policy to encourage questions and collaboration. He valued and respected the entire staff, was on a first-name basis with everyone, and genuinely appreciated the people working around him in any capacity.

David was passionate and loyal. A natural contrarian, he chose the New York Yankees despite growing up in Boston Red Sox territory, a love he passed on to his sons and a rivalry he relished with his brother Donald. They all shared a love of Providence Basketball, and David made an annual event of attending the Big East Tournaments in Madison Square Garden with his college roommates and families. He loved sightseeing, and annually drove his family in a Dodge RAM van on a three-week long tour of some part of the United States or Canada, complete with camping, National Park tours, and every photogenic waterfall he could find. He prided himself in his prowess as a gift-giver, thinking and planning for months for extravagantly wrapped and photographed Christmas mornings, and was generous with annual donations to dozens of charitable organizations at year-end. He loved learning, subscribed to more periodicals than a reasonable person could ever read, and was a devotee of almanacs and televised nature programs.

David adored his adopted hometown of Madison. A longtime member of the Madison Golf Club and dedicated attendee of the Discussion Group housed at the renovated YMCA, he frequented the Nautilus Diner every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday with two friends until Covid drove them to Zoom. The house on Cross Gates Road was the center of many weekend gatherings, pre-prom parties, gourmet group dinners, cast parties, wedding showers, and even his son's rehearsal dinner. He had an arsenal of muppet voices to entertain young kids, a devil's advocate instinct that invited many debates on many topics, and a quick smile and a self-deprecating ability to laugh at himself that earned him the nickname "SuperDave" among the kids' friends.

Most of all, David loved hearing about and supporting his eight grandkids in their endeavors: Joe's nascent legal career, Steffi's track and field, Jonny's geopolitical knowledge, Nate's soccer, Juliana's horseback riding, Loretta's advanced reading and science, Delilah's gymnastics, and every single thing about Jolene.

Diagnosed with cerebellar ataxia a decade ago, the neurological disease prompted retirement by a man who truly loved his work. Though private and unwaveringly optimistic in the face of it, David eventually allowed his beloved daughter-in-law Becky advocate and care for him. Until just before his death, he relished calls from friends and favorite clients, and visits and personal-sized apple pies from his devoted sister-in-law Chris. A series of complications from this neurodegenerative disease took him from us too early, but he left with dignity and his three beloved children by his side.

David is survived by his sisters Diane and Laurie, his brothers Ted and Donald, and their wives Sue and Chris; by his children, Melissa and her husband Mike, Jon and his wife Heather, and Alex and his wife Rebecca; by his kids' mother, Catherine; by his eight grandkids who cherished him; by nieces and nephews; and by an enduring legacy of love and generosity.

In lieu of flowers, please honor his love of Madison and learning with a donation to the Museum of Early Trades and Crafts, www.metc.org/donate.