Peggy Jeannine Langston

Peggy Jeannine Bennett Langston (1929-2026)—wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother; office manager/bookkeeper of City Drug Store and Langston Drug Store; passionate seashell enthusiast; excellent homemaker, cook, and seamstress; avid reader; hilarious deliverer of ‘one-liners’; shag dancing teacher; and devoted member of Garber Methodist Church—passed away March 9, 2026.

While always well dressed and hair perfectly coiffed, Peggy was a fun-seeking lady who could tie off a line or clean fish off the stern of the boat faster than most men. She found her true peace with her hair wrapped in a bandana, walking the beach for hours looking for shells. She loved a good joke, and she could quote Shakespeare as easily as she could quote Scripture.

Born in New Bern and raised in Bridgeton, NC, Peggy completed her K-12 education at Bridgeton School and New Bern High School before attending Peace College (Raleigh, NC). Peggy married her high school sweetheart, Milton, in 1950, and moved to Charleston, where she worked as an office administrator while Milton finished his pharmacy degree at MUSC. The couple enjoyed the city for two blissful years—forever cementing Charleston as a special place in their hearts—before returning to New Bern to establish their businesses and lifelong home.

Peggy and Milton built a life rich in family, friendship, and community. Peggy delighted in welcoming family into her home, where a freshly baked “Grammie cake” was always waiting for arriving grandchildren. She created countless traditions that her family will remember with joy for generations.

In retirement, Peggy volunteered at the NC Maritime Museum and later at the NC Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores. She enjoyed teaching museum-goers about seashells. For many years, she served as Mrs. Claus for the aquarium at Christmastime, reading to the children as they waited to see Santa. She retired from her volunteer post at the young age of 88.

Peggy and Milton taught many young people to water ski on the Trent River and even more adults to shag dance at the City Park, in their church fellowship hall, and in their living room. The Barden House on Cape Lookout and their condo on Atlantic Beach were favorite retreats.

Peggy was preceded in death by her husband of 72 years, Milton Langston, Jr.; parents, Jesse Randall Bennett and Mabel Oglesby Bennett; a sister, Emma Ruth Bennett Willey; and a niece, Alicia Willey.

She is survived by her son, Milton Beron (Barry) Langston, III, of New Bern; and daughters, Jeannine Bennett Langston of New Bern, and Chery-Randall (Randy) L. McDonald (Ford) of Shelby, NC. Also surviving are her grandchildren: Paul Langston of Raleigh, NC; Corrine L. Smith (Paul) of Tulsa, OK; Crisp McDonald (Colleen) of Charleston, SC; Ashley M. Kincaid (Doug) of Alexandria, VA; Emma M. Diamond (Kevin) of Beacon, NY. Her great-grandchildren include: LenaRose Langston, Fletcher and Lillian McDonald, Grace and Bennett Kincaid, and Oliver and Maxwell Diamond.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, March 21, at 1:00 p.m. at Cotten Funeral Home & Crematory Chapel in New Bern, NC, with Rev. Kimberly T. Ingram officiating. The family will receive friends before the service at 12 noon. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to the NC Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores or Crystal Coast Hospice House in Newport, NC.