Van Curtis Langston ’76

He entered Princeton from Chief Sealth High School with the Class of 1974 and graduated with the Class of 1976. At Princeton he majored in psychology, and was a member of the varsity track team, Association of Black Princeton Alumni, and Tiger Inn. Van was a triple jumper and his best jump was 46 feet 4.5 inches during his sophomore year. He roomed with Emanuel R. Brookfield ’74.

After Princeton, Van graduated from the University of Washington School of Law and worked for Northwest Defenders Association in Seattle from 1988 until retiring in 2007.

Van was quiet, gentle, and loving. He was always ready to help family and friends whenever and wherever he was needed. Van was a lifelong golfer and so enthusiastic that he bought his home between two golf courses.

In our Princeton yearbook, he quoted the following passage by Walt Whitman: “Each of us is inevitable, Each of us is limitless — each of us with his or her right upon the earth, Each of us allowed the eternal purports of the earth.”

Van is survived by his mother, Odgie M. Horton; a sister, Enna Lamping; and a brother, Ron Langston.