Shirley Mae “Nana” Pledger Langston passed away on September 15, 2011, in Katy, Texas. She was 87 years old.
Shirley was born on January 27, 1924 in Crossett, Arkansas to Grover Cleveland and Elizabeth “Betsy” Missouri Pledger. She grew up in the Southeast area of Arkansas including Crossett, Portland, and the Montrose area.
In 1943 she enlisted in the Army, and was stationed at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. On October 25, 1945 she married childhood friend, Bill Smith. Shirley ran a family business in Little Rock, Arkansas with her husband, Bill, while raising her two daughters, Jane and Betty. In 1958 Shirley attended Southern Bible College in Houston, Texas and graduated Valedictorian in 1967 with a Bachelor of Science in Education. In 1968 Shirley married Lonzo “Sonny” Langston, and was married 16 years before Sonny’s passing. In addition to raising her daughters and her studies, Shirley maintained her church duties as a Sunday School Teacher and Youth and Women’s Leader, while also helping raise her 2 grandson’s, Jeremy and Corey. In 1995 she began to teach Special Education at Green Valley Elementary in North Shore, Texas. She thoroughly loved her teaching career, and touching the lives of children. Shirley retired from full time employment in 1999 but continued to work part time until 2005. From 2008 until 2011 Shirley was an integral part of raising her great granddaughter, Gracelynn.
Over the years Shirley enjoyed studying the Bible, spending time with her family, sewing, cooking, quilting, reading books, listening to books on tape, watching movies, watching Bill Gaither, singing hymns, spoiling her grandchildren and traveling. Some of the highlights of her travels involved snowmobiling in Colorado, countless road trips to places like New York City and Niagara Falls, visiting the Silver Depository in West Point, NY where she requested a photo be taken of the “Silver Suppository”, and in 2008 she realized a lifelong dream of visiting Israel and being baptized in the Jordan River.
She is survived by her daughters, Jane Rowe of Pearland, Texas, Betty Dodd and son in law, Jerry “Snapper” Dodd of Katy, Texas; sister: Freddie Morphis and husband John of The Woodlands, Texas; grandchildren: Jeremy Dodd and wife Heather of Katy, Texas, Corey Rowe and wife Dona of Pearland, Texas, Paula Reeves and husband Andy of Conway, Arkansas, David Rowe of Memphis, Tennessee, Tammy Beavers and husband Chris of Trinity, Texas, and Lori Davila and husband Luis of Temecula, California; great grandchildren: Gracelynn Mae Rowe, James and Karrie Beavers, Dakota and Jacob Reeves, and Miguel Davila. She was preceded in death by her husband, Lonzo “Sonny” Langston and her first husband, William “Bill” Smith; her parents Grover and Betsy Pledger; her sisters, Geneva Godwin and Nettie Porter; her brothers Cleveland Pledger and Robert Pledger; and infant son, Billy Lynn Smith.