Obituary of James A. Lang

On July 20, 2018, James A. Lang peacefully passed away surrounded by family and friends. James was born in Anchorage, Alaska and spent his younger years in Metlakatla, on Annette Island. The family moved to various places such as Salem, Oregon and Riverton, Wyoming where he graduated from Riverton High School in 1972. In the same year, his family moved to Yakima, Washington. Jim bravely battled Neuroendocrine Pancreatic Cancer and the resulting cancer issues for a decade. The Cancer was related to an inherited syndrome called Familial Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Type 1 (MEN1). It was important to him that people know that those with cancer in their families should get tested early and often for markers. He also has requested that those who knew him understand that he has no regrets. At the time of his passing, he was happy he lived as long as he did and was at peace. He was grateful for the opportunities that presented themselves in his lifetime and the adventures associated with those events. He enjoyed his time with Up With People, and maintained many life-long friendships from that period. Jim spent time as a Reserve Police Officer in Yakima, which created a life-long respect for the profession. His biggest source of pride was his time in the Navy, serving on both the Nimitz and Kitty Hawk aircraft carriers in the early 1990’s, and flying S3 Viking surveillance planes, as a Navigator. Recently he retired from SPAWAR where he had spent many years on projects he enjoyed, working with many people he greatly appreciated and respected. Through this, he was able to travel the world and form some of his closest friendships. Jim was proud of his children, Justin and Diana. He also took happiness from his ‘adopted’ kids, Chase (Allie) and Matt (Brigitte), and was honored by the fact that he was a father figure to his nephews, Nate (Christy) and Christopher (Natalie). His daughter, Diana has so many favorite memories spending time with her dad. One that she treasures most was when he took her to San Diego Comic-Con the first time at age 13. He stood around and people-watched while she explored. She is the most thankful for that, as it opened a whole new world to her. His son Justin’s best memories would be the small things – like spending time together building rockets or pinewood derby cars when he was younger. As he grew older, his fondest memories came from having his dad help him with his car and being able to share travel and concert experiences. These great memories helped as times became rougher for his dad during the last few years of his illness. He was pre-deceased by his Mother and Father, Wanda and Jack Lang; his brothers John and Joe, and his Father-in-Law, Henry H. Hunter, and Brother-in-Law Frank Minear. He is survived by his wife of 34 years, Rene’ Lang, his children Justin Lang and his girlfriend Kimberly Abad, and Diana Lang and her boyfriend Kyle Blankenfeld. Jim is also survived by his siblings, Leslie Lang, Bernadette Lindbergh, Mary Walker, Amy Stuckey, Judy Ratcliff, Howard Hunter, Dana Murray, Lori Minear, Jon Hunter, Ron Hunter, their respective significant others and his nieces and nephews. The family is grateful for the excellent care provided by the Doctors, Nurses, and Staff at the Sharp Grossmont Hospital and the careful management of his health by the Neuroendocrine Staff at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. The level of care and encouragement provided by Dr. Hendafar and his team was unparalleled and is one reason Jim was able to fight for as long as he did, which was far above and beyond anyone’s expectation. The family would love for you to share how you met James and your favorite stories and memories. A Celebration of Life will be held on October 13, 2018 at 9329 starting at noon. For more information contact Rene @ rehlang4@gmail.com In lieu of flowers we kindly ask that you make a donation to the Neuroendocrine Tumor Research Foundation (http://netrf.org/donate).