Joan Patricia Langford

Joan Patricia Langford went home to be with the Lord on August 23, 2018 at 7:20 am. She passed peacefully at home in the presence of her loved ones. Joan was born on November 22, 1934 to James and Josephine McGann of The Bronx, New York. Her father James, a sergeant in the NYPD, passed away when she was ten. Not long after, her mother became ill and, eventually, Joan quit high school to become the caregiver for her mother and her younger sister and brother. Perhaps her reputation as a fierce defender of her family was established before this time, but after her mother passed, Joan absolutely refused to allow anyone to do anything to separate her from her sister and brother. That strength and resolve is something that always ran beneath a stream of incredible kindness and selflessness throughout her life. She and some girlfriends from The Bronx decided to rent a cabin in Belmar, NJ during the summer of 1958. There was a group of guys from Brooklyn who called themselves the Seven Wonders in the house next door and a little over a year later, Joan married Richard Langford. Her children remember a home filled with joy and laughter regardless of whatever trials life brought their way. It was as though she simply refused to let it be any other way. While Joan was often quiet, she never shied away from new experiences and she had a great appreciation for beauty wherever she saw it. At different times, she became an avid reader of great literature, a watercolor painter, and a gardener. Her greatest experience, however, began in 1976 after she went to see a prayer group that was meeting in the basement of Our Lady Star of the Sea church. It was during the Charismatic Revival and the group which later became known as the Shekinah Branch of Yahweh joined her in discovering a life intimately connected with God. As an intercessory prayer, Joan’s strength and resolve mixed with incredible kindness and selflessness found their perfect fit. She would enter into deep prayer and fight for people who never knew that she had them in her heart. Her close, personal relationship with Jesus was a witness to her family and everyone she came in contact with; many of whom now have relationships of their own with Him. Joan is survived by her husband of almost 59 years, Richard; her children, Richard, Eileen Kim, Kathleen Wolfe, and Joan Ricciardi; her nine grandchildren and her great-granddaughter; and her brother Joseph. She will be sorely missed by everyone who had the privilege to know her but we look forward to seeing her again before too long. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:00 AM on Monday, August 27, 2018 at Our Lady Star of the Sea located at 5411 Amboy Road Staten Island, New York 10312. Interment will follow in Resurrection Cemetery, Staten Island, NY. The family will receive friends from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM and 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM on Sunday, August 26, 2018, at the John Vincent Scalia Home for Funerals, Inc. located at 28 Eltingville Blvd. Staten Island, New York 10312

Joan Patricia Langford

November 22, 1934 - August 23, 2018