Robert Langenberg ’54

Robert James Langenberg, age 91, of Grand Rapids, MI, passed away on December 11, 2020, in Grand Rapids, MI.

He was born on April 28, 1929, in Grand Rapids, MI, and adopted by Henry and Jenny Langenberg. He graduated from Grandville High School in 1947 and went on to Hope College where he pursued a chemistry degree.

On June 10, 1949, he married Mary Moore of Coxsakie, New York. Robert became a research chemist, and he still holds patents on a number of chemical derivatives. In 1970, he began preaching as a lay pastor in upstate New York, and in 1975, he moved his family back to Michigan to attend Western Theological Seminary. He was Ordained as a minister in the Reformed Church and had congregations in Grand Haven, Lansing, Falmouth and finally back in Grand Rapids. He pastored Eighth Reformed Church until he was 87 years old.

Robert had many interests. He played coronet and he loved music, he was an avid reader, an amazing gardener, a wonderful cook, a model airplane builder and a genuine Jack of All Trades. He did beautiful woodworking and he was a licensed builder. He was a loving father and grandfather. In later years, his greatest joy was sharing the love of Christ with everyone he met.

Robert is survived by his daughters, Mary (Eric) Alvarez, Elizabeth Langenberg, and Amy (Brian) Koster; sons, Robert H (Vickie) Langenberg, Timothy Langenberg, and Thomas J. (Lori) Langenberg; and thirty-four grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents; and wife of seventy years, Mary Helen Langenberg in 2019.