Dale Allen Langston

Celebrating the life journey of Dale Allen Langston, 57, who went to be with the Lord on Saturday, February 6, 2021. Dale had a sudden and unexpected medical emergency at home with the love of his life and wife, Laura by his side. After every effort was made to save Dale by the Chandler Fire Department paramedics, he died at Mercy Gilbert Medical Center of likely a heart-related incident.

Dale was born to W.L. Langston and Deone Avon (Brubaker) Langston on September 23, 1963. Dale lost his father, W. L. at the age of three and this affected him for the rest of his life. Dale was raised by his mother, Deone, his maternal grandmother, Marie and his Aunt Beverly Casey. Being surrounded by these strong women gave Dale a heart of gold and a respect for women that was unmatched.

Dale raised a loving son, David Allen Langston by devoting his time and energy to him including active involvement in school activities, Boy Scouts, coaching Tae Kwon Do, transporting to/from and attending wrestling meets, annual fishing trips in Northern Wisconsin (St. Germain,) hunting and camping. Dale was over-the-moon excited about the union of David and his lovely bride, Elyse in December 2019 and he was pleased to celebrate David’s graduation and licensure as a registered nurse in August 2020. He was so excited about becoming a grandfather for the first time, but sadly, this was not meant to be. Dale was incredibly proud of his son, David. He was proud of the man David has become and the life he has built for himself in Arizona.

Dale was a graduate of Big Foot High School Class of 1982, Walworth WI. Dale was a member of the Walworth Fire Department in his early adulthood and then was a member of the City of Harvard Fire and Rescue Departments while a resident of the Harvard, IL community.

Dale was a faithful peace officer in the City of Harvard, IL for nearly 24 years before sustaining a heart attack, which ended his law enforcement career. After his recovery, Dale’s life began anew upon reconnecting with and marrying the love of his life, and fellow Big Foot HS classmate, Laura A. (Bidlack) Langston. God blessed their broken road and they traveled this incredible journey together to build a love and life in Arizona. They eventually welcomed David to Arizona to join this family adventure. There was never a trip made to WI where Dale didn’t visit his “guys” at the Harvard Police Department. Maintaining that connection was very important to him.

Dale always had a very strong work ethic and he enjoyed many “retirement” jobs including working as a security officer for an automobile auction company, an Associate at Home Depot and Lowe’s at various times, preparing pre-packaged fruits and vegetables at the local Albertson’s grocery store, a security officer with Banner Desert Medical Center and eventually earning a security supervisor position at Banner Casa Grande Medical Center. He worked with the Arizona Diamondbacks baseball security team while in season despite being an avid Chicago Cubs fan. And, ultimately he returned to his roots, and love of Emergency Medical Services, by becoming a certified phlebotomist working for Vitalant in blood donations. He really enjoyed his work and especially being able to meet and talk to different people with whom he found to be very interesting. He had resigned from Vitalant to pursue another phlebotomy position with Fresenius Medical Care in kidney dialysis at the time of his death.

Dale was a member of the Choir Boys Law Enforcement Motorcycle Club and the Patriot Guard Riders. Dale and Laura were members of Desert Cross Lutheran Church. Dale had a “corny” sense of humor and had twinkly, mischievous eyes while tickling his own funny bone more than anyone else in the moment. He loved to watch history and other educational programs on TV and he was a library of trivia, which made for interesting conversation with anyone. He was good with his hands and was an amazing woodworker. He enjoyed spending time with his father-in-law, John and other family and friends in the north woods of Wisconsin each year deer hunting or in Texas pig hunting when possible. He was a loyal Green Bay Packer fan and was ecstatic when the Chicago Cubs finally won the World Series.

Dale and Laura created a lifetime of memories in the slightly over 10 short years they had together including traveling to multiple states in the US, either by air or road trip, and they had planned a cruise to their dream spot of Santorini, Greece in June 2021. They loved to ride the roads of Arizona on their Harley Davidson Road King and explored the backroads of same in their Jeep Wrangler. They especially loved attending music events including concerts, festivals, arts center and theater shows, participating in charity rides to benefit law enforcement officers, firefighters and veterans and searching out new and exciting dining experiences. Dale enjoyed cooking for Laura and his loved ones and regularly tried new recipes, especially of the vegan and vegetarian variety. His greatest joy was spending time with, entertaining and feeding family and friends. This really warmed his heart! Dale was a kind, loving soul that was always willing to help and support those in need and he fiercely loved his family and friends.

Dale is survived by his wife, Laura, son David, daughter-in-law, Elyse (Rightmer) Langston, Chandler, AZ, sister, Beth (Dan) Reineking, Mesquite, NV, his mother and father-in-law, John and Carolyn Warfield, Walworth, WI, his brothers and sisters-in-law, Shawn and Nancy Wunder and Michael and Jennifer Bidlack, Elkhorn, WI, six nephews, Jim, AJ, Tom, Tyler, Jason and Brody, one niece, Kaylee, two great-nieces, two great-nephews, an aunt and several cousins, as well as, colleagues and many, many friends.

A GoFundMe page has been established on Facebook (Help Laura and family with their unexpected loss as organized by Ashley King) to assist with expenses as Laura reestablishes her financial footing. A Celebration of Life ceremony will be delayed due to the COVID pandemic, but will be held in the Chandler, AZ area in the next couple of months, as well as, a ceremony in Walworth WI in the near future.