Lasting Love

Generally, I do not write about current events, that is, most of posts will be about people who died prior to the 1990s, but I can’t help myself with this one – after 65 years together, they died in the same year……

Carl Rudolph Langille was the son of Martin Langille & Elizabeth Whidden, brother to Aleck of the last post. Unlike his brother, he didn’t wander far from home.

He married Helena Edith Wenn in 1933 at Saint John, New Brunswick and had three children together. They were married for 65 years…..65 years…and after Helena died in May, Carl died just 4 months later……together again

~~~

Halifax Herald, 25 May 1998
LANGILLE, Helena Edith - 84, 43 Normandy Ave, Truro, passed away May 23, 1998, in Colchester Regional Hospital.  Born in Maces Bay, NB, she was a daughter of the late John and Myrtle (Janes) Wenn.  She was a member of First United Church, UCW and Unit K, and a former member of Brunswick Street United Church.  Helena was very active in community organizations and was an avid bridge player and gardener.  She is survived by her husband of 64 years, Carl; daughter, Eleanor Ratchford, Bible Hill; sisters, Lillian Jennings, Fredericton; Eleanor Cresswell, Kelowna, BC; grandchildren, Karen, Sandra, Wayne, Paul, Rod, Heather and  Jason; nine great-grandchildren.  She was predeceased by her daughter, Ann (Mrs. Robert Cummings); son Karl (Sonny).  No visitation by request.  A memorial service will be held 2 pm Tuesday in Colchester Community Funeral Home, 512 Willow St, Truro.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Heart and Stroke Foundation of Nova Scotia.

~~~

Halifax Herald, 29 Sep 1998
LANGILLE, Carl Rudolph - 89, 43 Normandy Ave, Truro, died September 28, 1998, in Colchester Regional Hospital.  Born in Hilden, he was a son of the late Martin and Lizzie Ethel (Whidden) Langille.  He was a retired locomotive engineer with Canadian National Railways.  He was a member of the First United Church; past president and life member of Emmerson Club; former member of Truro Curling Club and an avid bridge player and gardener.  In his younger years, he enjoyed playing hockey and baseball.  He was the last surviving member of his immediate family.  Surviving are his daughter, Eleanor Ratchford, Truro; seven grandchildren.  He was predeceased by his wife of 64 years, the former Helena Wenn; son, Carl (Sonny); daughter, Anne Cummings; sisters, Stella, Eleanor (Kit); brothers, Bill, Alec.  No visitation by request.  Memorial service 2 pm Thursday in Colchester Community Funeral Home, 512 Willow St, Rev William MacLeod officiating.  Burial at a later date.  In lieu of flowers, donations to Alzheimer Society of Nova Scotia or any charity.

Digger Killed

Aleck Biby Langille was the son of Martin Langille & Elizabeth Whidden – and it’s the maternal line that traces back to the Vincent connection.

Ancestry - U.S., Records of Aliens Pre-Examined in Canada, 1904-1954

Aleck was born in Truro, Nova Scotia and as a young 20 year old, Aleck set out on an adventure, leaving home to make his mark.  He landed in Massachusetts in 1926

courtesy of Jeannine Wegmueller - Ancestry

In Massachusetts, he met and married a Maine born girl by the name of Deana Beatrice Willett in 1936.

Sadly........two short years later, Aleck would die as a result of an industrial accident.

Daily Argus, Fri, 11 Mar 1938
Aqueduct Digger Killed By Bricks - (Special to the Daily Argus)
Valhalla - One man was killed and another seriously injured near here Wednesday as they worked at the bottom of shaft 18 of the Delaware aqueduct.  Alexander Langille, twenty-six, of White Plains, died yesterday after he was hit by falling bricks.  He was the fifth man killed on the Westchester section of the New York City aqueduct.  Victor Petelle, twenty-five, also of White Plains, is in White Plains Hospital.  Both men were laborers engaged in sinking the shaft. 

The obituary in the Nova Scotia paper as provided by Michael DelaVega on Find A Grave, reflects the deep connections he had to his Maritime home.

Deana went on to marry Timothy O'Connell and she passed away in 2010

Missing Details

Edythe Belle Griggs was the daughter of Charles Griggs & Sophia Jobb, and sister to Abbie in the last post. 

I know she married Cecil Edward Wheeler and had three children – but I couldn’t find a birth or a death entry for her!  I imagine she is buried with her husband, but that’s just it, I imagine ......

The Saratogian, Tues, 2 Jan 1968
Cecil E Wheeler, 63
Mechanicville - Cecil E Wheeler, 63, of 95 S Hudson Ave, Stillwater, died Monday in the Leonard Hospital following a long illness.  He was born in Pomfret, Vermont, April 17, 1904, son of the late Sidney and Florence Riley Wheeler.  He had resided in the Mechanicville-Stillwater area for 20 years.  He formerly lived in Bellows Falls, Vt.  He was a trainman on the Boston and Maine Railroad and a member of L S Coffin Lodge, Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen.  He is survived by his wife, Edythe G Wheeler, Stillwater; one daughter, Mrs William (Sallie) Goodrich, Castleton, NY; two sons, Sidney Wheeler of Albany and Charles Wheeler of Stillwater; four sisters, Mrs Myrtle Byrnes, Brooklyn; Mrs Mabel Fogg, White River Junction, Vt; Miss Hertha Wheeler, also of White River Junction; Mrs Beatrice Pickin, Norwich, Vt.  Three brothers, Otis Wheeler and Burton Wheeler of White River Junction, and Hector Wheeler of Wilder, Vt; several nieces and nephews also survive.  Funeral services will be Thursday at 2 pm at the Dunn Funeral Home, 121 Hudson Ave, Stillwater.  The Rev William E Schulenberg, pastor of the Stillwater United Church, will officiate.  Burial will be in Memory Garden.