Marlyn June Langley

Marlyn June Fontaine Langley, 70 of Covington, passed away on December 16, 2025. She was born on May 30, 1955 in Nashville, Arkansas to Thomas Fontaine and June Fontaine. She is preceded in death by her grandmother Martha June Tinsley as well as her father and step-mother Thomas Fontaine and Ruby Fontaine.

Marlyn grew up in Nashville and graduated high school in 1973. She then attended Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia where she completed her accounting degree. This is also where she met Glenn and spent time on their first date watching shooting stars laughing and talking for hours on end. Two years later they were married on September 4, 1976, then had their first child, Jennifer, in 1978 and their second child, Stephanie, in 1980.

After Marlyn graduated they moved to Baton Rouge in 1981 where she started her career with the Louisiana Department of Education. She always felt very fortunate to be doing work she loved that was meaningful for her and impactful for the children throughout the state. She wholly committed herself to the ideal that every Louisiana school system should be funded in a fair and equitable manner and that every young person should have the opportunity to achieve a quality college education. She completed her Masters in Public Administration from Louisiana State University. In 1992 she became the first woman Deputy Superintendent of Education over Management and Finance operations, serving until her retirement in 2006.

Marlyn loved spending time with her family and researching ancestry. She took great joy in keeping the pantry stocked with the grandkids’ favorites, doting on them often with lots of attention, affection, and amazon packages. She loved family vacations at the beach and her time island hopping with Glenn scuba diving in their younger years. She was always reading books and collected crystal and antiques everywhere she went. She was often the originator of our family’s most favorite soundbites and inside jokes and greatly valued laughter and enjoying each other’s company.

Marlyn was an impressive lady who is dearly loved and deeply admired for who she was and all that she accomplished in her personal and professional life.

Marlyn is survived by her loving and devoted husband of 49 years, Glenn Langley; daughter Jenifer Langley; daughter and son-in-law Stephanie Langley Newman and Stuart Newman; grandchildren Graham Newman, Ellie Newman, and Oliver Newman; mother, June Tinsley Fontaine; siblings, Thomas Fontaine, James Fontaine, Roy Fontaine, and Ken Fontaine. Marlyn also leaves behind a large and loving extended family.

Marlyn was diagnosed with scleroderma in 2000 with an initial prognosis of mortality within 5 years. She battled the disease for 25 years so that she could spend as much time as possible seeing her family grow. Her doctors say she was by far the longest living scleroderma patient they’d ever seen. She ultimately passed peacefully in the presence of her husband and children.

Donations can be made to National Scleroderma Foundation, P.O. Box 411533, Boston, MA 02241-1533. Donations can also be made online at www.scleroderma.org/donate

Visitation will be held on Saturday, January 10, 2025 from 12:00 pm until 1:00 pm at the Grace Funeral Home (450 Holy Trinity Drive, Covington). Her Funeral Service will be held at 1:00 pm on Saturday, January 10, 2025 at the Grace Funeral Home (450 Holy Trinity Drive, Covington).