On December 17th, after a full and happy 87 years on this earth, Roman John Langel, known to many simply as ‘Rome’ or ‘Romie’, entered into eternal joy with Jesus Christ. We’ll say joy and not rest because Romie never liked to rest. He joined many, many family and friends, including his wife Clarice, his parents, Leo and Pauline, his brothers and sisters-in law, Clarence and Julie Langel, Donald and Harriet Langel, Richard Langel, infant brother, LeRoy Langel, Marvin Langel, Ardy Langel, his infant sister, Ann Langel, sister, Bernice Tierney, his brother-in-law, Leonard Straub, his in-laws Leo and Tillie Meis, and his sister-in-law Ruth Meis. We assume Roman has a tooth pick in his mouth, a drink in his hand and there is a massive card game going, though we are unsure if heaven guarantees Roman has finally been dealt a decent pinochle hand.

Mass of Christian Burial will take place at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, December 20, 2013 at St. James Catholic Church in Le Mars. Father Paul Eisele will celebrate Mass. Burial will follow at Calvary Cemetery in Le Mars with military honors conducted by Wasmer Post #241 of the American Legion. Visitation will begin at 3:00 p.m. with the family present on Thursday, December 19, 2013 at St. James Catholic Church. A Knights of Columbus Rosary will be at 5:00 p.m. followed by a Scriptural Prayer Service at 7:00 p.m. There will also be one hour of visitation at the church prior to Mass on Friday.

Roman was born on December 15th, 1926 on a farm east of Le Mars, the 4th son of Leo and Pauline Langel. He attended 12 years of school at St. Joseph’s in Le Mars and worked with his dad and brothers on the farm. He would also quickly tell you that because he had plenty of older brothers, he did housework too - including many dishes, diapers and darning socks.

In February of 1945, he was drafted into the US Navy. Though he could not swim, he was excited to join and took great pride in being able to serve his country. After completing boot camp and signalman training school at Great Lakes, IL, he boarded the USS Samar Arg II. The ship travelled to Shanghai, China to assist in the rebuilding effort after WWII. He was discharged in July of 1946 as a signalman 3rd class.

When he returned from service, he continued working for his dad until he married Clarice Lucille Meis on September 1st, 1949 at St. Joseph’s Church in Le Mars. They initially made their home for 2 years on a farm south of Le Mars until taking over his father-in-law’s farm west of Le Mars on Hwy 3. For the next 30 years, they raised crops, livestock and 3 children, Randy, Sharon and Marilyn, instilling each with generosity, hard work and classic, German stubbornness. Whether he was driving his tractor with the throttle down or behind the wheel of the family car during long summer vacations, Roman enjoyed life. He had a boisterous laugh and a welcoming spirit, which made him a friend to all. If you ever had the pleasure of entering his house, regardless of the hour, you were invited to “sit down and have a drink!”

In 1980, Roman and Clarice moved to town, however, this didn’t slow Romie down. He was always busy; his large personality matched his endless enthusiasm and zest for life. He loved helping people. He was a lifelong member of the American Legion, Knights of Columbus, and a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles. In 1957, he joined the Remsen Mutual Insurance Company, working as an agent and adjuster. In 1979, he became president and he retired in 2001. Throughout his life, he took great joy in serving his church in every way he was able, whether leading the rosary or shoveling snow. He preferred simple, informal things; a good drink, a good round of golf, a good conversation. He made time for all of these things with his friends and family. His grandchildren were blessed to have an energetic grandpa who loved to play ball or take them fishing, was always willing to put a sprinkler in the backyard and taught them to play cards.

On April 14th, 2007, he married Millie Schwartz at St. James Catholic Church in Le Mars. They enjoyed their years together, whether on trips to Arizona, California and Colorado or spending peaceful nights grilling in the backyard.

In going to ‘the great beyond’ (as Roman called it), he has left behind many people who loved him, including his wife, Millie of Le Mars; his 3 children and their spouses, Randy and Jane Langel of Newport Beach, CA, Sharon and Roger Weishaar and Marilyn and Al Wendt, both of Le Mars; 7 grandchildren, Matthew and Alexandra Langel of Newport Beach, CA, Amy Weishaar of Des Moines, IA, Brian (Megan) Weishaar of Sioux Falls, SD, Adam (Shelly) Wendt and Michael Wendt both of Le Mars, Jamie (Josh) Rothschadl of McConnell, IL; his sister and brother-in-law, Vi and Lee Kellen of Le Mars; sister, Mary Lou Straub of Ft. Collins, CO; brother, Leonard Langel of Le Mars; sister-in-law, Joyce Langel of Le Mars; brothers-in-law, Leon Meis of Le Mars and Dick Tierney of Roscoe, Il; Millie’s children and their children, Dean and Karla Schwartz, Tyler and Rachel, Andrea and Paul, Angela, Mark and Sue Schwartz, Megan, Amanda, Halie, Ken and Emily Schwartz, Wayne and Erin Schwartz, Elise and Caitlin, Clarence and Cheryl Schwartz, Stefani and Chance, Emory Schwartz, Carl and Melinda Schwartz, Alex and Darci, Jacqi and Felipe, Sarah, Andrew - all of whom take comfort in knowing he is saving a seat at that table for each of us. We look forward to hearing those words, “sit down and have a drink!”, again someday.

In honor of Roman, the family requests that donations be made to Gehlen Catholic Schools.