Harry N. Langdon, Ph. D.

Harry N. Langdon, Ph.D., 85, died on Sept. 27, 2014. He is survived by the people he considers his greatest loves, his wife of 44 years, Jeanne Sondag Langdon; his son, Mark N. Langdon; and daughter, Laura Strecker and her husband Mark; grandsons, Zachary and CJ Strecker; niece, Mary Langdon of Omaha; nephew, Dan Langdon of Seattle; brother in-law, Dale Poole of Council Bluffs, IA; and his nieces and nephews, Joni and Dave Schnitker and their children, Jeremy, Lindsay and Kylie; Jenny Van Soelen and her children Nicholas, William and Ben; Gordon Poole and wife CiCi and their children Megan, Sarah; Dan Poole and wife Angel and their children, Kellen and Grayson, and David Poole.

Harry taught Communications, English and Theatre for over 51 years. He began at Abraham Lincoln High School in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Harry moved to Creighton University, Omaha, NE where he chaired the Speech and Theatre Department. After obtaining his Doctorate in Theatre and Communications from the University of Iowa in 1970, he chaired departments at the University of West Florida, Pensacola; and St. Mary of the Plains College, Dodge City, KS. He also taught at Illinois State University, Normal-Bloomington; Rockhurst University and University of Missouri-Kansas City. In his final full time teaching post at Johnson County Community College. Langdon won a Burlington-Northern Award for Outstanding Teaching. He also received National Council for the Humanities Grants to study at the University of California-Berkeley and the University of Hawaii-Oahu.

Langdon was ordained a deacon in the Catholic Church for the Diocese of Des Moines in 1972 and has served in the Dioceses of Des Moines, Pensacola-Tallahassee, Dodge City, and Kansas City-St. Joseph. In the 1980s, Harry was Director of Campus Ministry at Rockhurst College and served as a reserve chaplain at Research Medical Center. Harry also was President and Secretary for the Waldo-Country Club Ministerial Association. He was a member of St. Francis Xavier Parish for over 30 years.

He authored two books and fifty articles on speech, theatre and religion. He served as a speaker for both the Kansas and Missouri Humanities Councils. He directed over 100 plays in six states and acted in the same number in college, university and community theatre productions. Harry sang with both the Omaha and Kansas City Symphony Choruses. He also was an organist and soloist at Our Lady of Peace and St. Francis Xavier Parishes in Kansas City.

Visitation will be 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, October 1st at St. Francis Xavier Church, 1001 E. 52nd Street, KCMO; the rosary will be prayed at 10:00 a.m. Mass of Christian Burial will begin at 11:00 a.m. Interment will be at St. Joseph Cemetery in Council Bluff, IA. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be given to St. Francis Xavier Church or Holmesdale Nursing Home.