Donald Dean Langendorf
August 17, 1925 – May 15, 2017
Born in Minneapolis, Don spent his early years in Minnesota and Wisconsin. In January of 1942, his two older brothers were in the Navy and their new home port was to be San Francisco, so he moved with his mother to the city to be near them. He attended Galileo High School and worked full time at the Kaiser Shipyard in Richmond to help support his mother. Lying about his age, he enlisted in the Navy in November. He served in the 7th Beach Battalion and participated in the D-Day Invasion on Omaha Beach in Normandy. Returning to the US briefly for additional training, he was then assigned to APA 234 USS Bollinger, continuing on to the Philippines, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Thankfully, the armistice was signed a few hours after his arrival in Japan and he was sent back to Pleasanton for discharge on November 21, 1945.
Never one to waste time and adamant about taking advantage of the GI Bill, Don enrolled in SF City College to complete his GED and get his AA (Beta Tau Fraternity). He went on to SF State, where he received his BA and MA. During that time, at a USO dance, he eyed Eleanor Wolf coming into the hall. He told a friend that he ‘might just marry that girl’ and 9 months later, he did exactly that. They were together for 48 years until her death in 1994.
Don started teaching in 1950 at Hunters Point School. From there, he went to Franklin, Mark Twain, Fairmont, Visitacion Valley, Visitacion Valley Annex and El Dorado. He retired from the San Francisco Unified School District in 1985, having spent the last 11 years as the principal of Lawton Traditional School. Upon retirement, Don was asked to serve as an administrator of a couple of small schools started by Cornerstone in the Sunset District. Never one to back away from a challenge, he accepted. He retired once again, at the age of 78, after helping to establish additional sites, starting a high school and expanding enrollment to 1600 students. Don was truly blessed to have spent his life surrounded by the students, teachers and staff that he cherished in a career that he loved. Don’s next retirement involved much more leisure. He spent a lot of time on the dance floor and traveled extensively throughout the US and abroad with his wife, Barbara.
Preceded in death by his wife Eleanor Langendorf and his second wife Barbara Moore Langendorf, he is survived by his daughter, Cynthia Langendorf (Edie), son Christopher Langendorf, his sweet little dog, Ava and many treasured relatives and friends.
Please join us for a Celebration of a Life well lived at the Marin Art and Garden Center (30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Ross) on Sunday June 4, 2017 at 1pm. Arrangements by Valley Memorial Park Funeral Home , Novato, CA 415-897-9609.