Erma M. Langlas, age 93, died Wednesday, May 27, 2009 at St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids, following an extended illness. Funeral Services: 11:00 A.M. Monday, June 1, 2009, First Presbyterian Church, Marengo with Rev. Gerald Rife officiating. Burial will be at the Marengo Cemetery. Friends may call from 2 to 5 P.M. Sunday, May 31, 2009 at Kloster Funeral Home, Marengo. Memorials may be contributed to the Narcolepsy Network.

Erma is survived by her son Charles and his wife Janice of Mountain View, Hawaii; two daughters, Anne Johnson of Rock Island, IL and Linda Brink and her husband Richard of Londonderry, N.H.; five grandchildren, Stephen Blinkinsop, Abigail Langlas, Thomas Hepner, Matthew Blinkinsop and Daniel Hepner; and five great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Milford in 1989, a brother Wilmer Hopp.

Erma Mae was born April 11, 1916 in South Elgin, Illinois, the daughter of Walter Hopp and Annetta Langlas Hopp. She graduated from Elgin High School in 1933 and then attended Carthage College, graduating with a music and a math degree in 1937. Erma taught at the one-room Sheraton school outside Elgin for four years after college. During that time she often went dancing to the Big Bands of the time, like Louis Armstrong and Benny Goodman. On October 19, 1941, she married Milford C. Langlas. Following her marriage she taught piano lessons at home and she was a substitute teacher and an interim music and math teacher in the Marengo schools. She frequently accompanied soloists at the annual state music contest. She served as church organist for many years for the Presbyterian Church and for a few years at the Methodist Church. In her fifties, she taught math at Amana Jr. High and taught adult education classes at Marengo school for Kirkwood Community College.

Besides being a farm wife and a mother, Erma was always busy within her community. She was a member and elder of the First Presbyterian Church in Marengo. She was a 4-H leader for over 25 years, and was a mentor to many young people. Erma was a member of the Amana Craft Guild and the Iowa City Spinners and Weavers Guild and she often gave demonstrations of basket making, spinning and weaving. She made the Easter Bunny outfit for Marengo’s downtown Easter Egg Hunt. In the 1960s Erma was named a Master Farm Homemaker. Erma enjoyed golf and was a member of the Marengo Golf Club and Auxiliary. Being a voracious reader, she was a member of the Friends of the Library, and enjoyed helping with the addition to the new library. She was a member of the PEO Chapter AU and served in all the offices. She was an avid gardener of both flowers and vegetables. She loved animals and Erma’s many pets held a special place in her heart.