(Photo)

Lang, Russell Clark Jan 5, 1935 - Aug 24, 2018 Age 83, of Craig, NE. He was preceded in death by his wife, Nancy; and his parents, Richard and Elizabeth (Skinner) Lang. He is survived by his siblings: Joan Price, Wayne, Charles and Kathy Lang; and his children: Cristina, Rowan, Wesley, Jon and Robert Lang; and twelve grandchildren. Russ graduated from UNL with a Master's in Agronomy in 1958. He married Nancy in 1959 and they served as Methodist Agricultural Missionaries in Chile for 15 years. Upon return to Nebraska, they lived on the farm where Russ was raised, and raised their children. He worked in county extension is Dodge County until his retirement in 1998. FUNERAL SERVICE: Saturday, September 1, 2018, 10:30am, at Alder Grove United Methodist Church, rural Craig, NE. VISITATION: Friday, 6-8pm, at Pelan Funeral Services Oakland. Visitation will also be held one hour prior to services at the church. Burial: Alder Grove Cemetery, rural Craig, NE. Memorials to Dodge County Fair or Donor's Choice. PELAN FUNERAL SERVICES OAKLAND Oakland, NE 402-685-5673 www.pelanfuneralservices.com

#2-Published in the Enterprise September 14, 2018 and the Fremont Tribune August 27, 2018

(Photo)

Russell Clark Lang was born January 5, 1935 to Richard and Elizabeth (Skinner) Lang at the hospital in Tekamah, Nebraska. He was raised with his four siblings on the family farm in northwest Washington County. His childhood was filled with traditional farm tasks, 4-H and activities at the Alder Grove church. He graduated from the Alder Grove School in 1948 and from Craig High School in 1953. In high school he participated in athletics, plays, speech and music.

He attended Nebraska Wesleyan University for two years where he was a member of Phi Kappa Tau fraternity and the male a cappella choir. He transferred to the University of Nebraska College of Agriculture and graduated with high distinction in 1956. He obtained his Master of Science degree in Agronomy in January 1958. He attended additional graduate school at Perkins School of Theology, Dallas, Texas and Scarritt College, Nashville, Tennessee.

In Nashville he met Nancy Hinton. She was an Extension Agent in Davidson County. They were married at Church Street United Methodist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee on December 26, 1959 after a long-distance courtship while he attended Spanish language school in San Jose, Costa Rica. They were blessed with five children.

In February 1960 they sailed for Chile to begin work as agricultural missionaries of the Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church at El Vergel, Angol. While in Chile he was teacher and director of the Agricultural School, assistant manager of the farm and preached regularly in churches in the area. In August 1974, Russell, Nancy and family returned to Nebraska and resided at Alder Grove. He taught agriculture at Tekamah-Herman High School for one year and then joined the Extension Service as a county agent in Dodge County, Fremont where he served until 1998.

Nancy and Russell had five children: Cristina of Grand Prairie, TX, Rowan (Kim) of Omaha, NE, Wesley (Lauren) of Leesburg, VA, Jonathan of Naperville, IL and Robert (Anita) of Kenosha, WI. They have twelve grandchildren: Mauricio, Danika, Ryan, Jason, Bryce, Silas, Keenan, Kallin, Karson, Orlando, Pablo and Esteban. His wife Nancy passed away in 2008.

Brothers and sisters include: Joan Price of Oakland, NE, Wayne of Fairview, NC, Charles of Orlando, FL and Kathy of Elgin, TX.

Russell was a member of the Alder Grove United Methodist Church where he served in several capacities, the American Philatelic Society, the Methodist Philatelic Society, the Cresap Society, the Fremont Optimist Club, where he was president and a lieutenant governor, the Nebraska Association of Extension Agents and the National Association of County Extension Agents.

After retirement, Russell worked on projects around his interests in local history. He wrote five historical books including: The Family of John and Minnie Skinner, Alder Grove Community, Church and School, The Original Land Transfers of Nebraska and A Craig Scrapbook.

Visitation 6-8 pm Friday, August 31, Pelan Funeral Home, 310 South Charde Avenue, Oakland, NE. Visitation will also be held one hour prior to services at the church. Funeral 10:30 am Saturday, September 1, Alder Grove United Methodist Church, 181 County Road 21, rural Craig, NE. Burial Alder Grove Cemetery, 181 County Road 21, rural Craig, NE. The family requests that memorials in his name be given to the Dodge County Fair.

Pelan Funeral Home in service to the family.

Obituary courtesy of the Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file at the Blair Public Library.

Find a Grave Memorial# 192629856