Mary Jane Powell Langhorn

Mary Jane Powell Langhorn, the youngest of 10 children, was born May 21, 1924, to Reuben and Laura Hatcher Powell. 

She graduated from Cumberland School and went on to receive a nursing certificate on May 11, 1945, and was employed at St. Phillips Hospital in Richmond, Va. 

On April 14, 1946, Mary married Garfield Langhorn and to that union, four children were born. 

She was predeceased by her husband and her son, PFC Garfield Langhorn, Riverhead’s Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, and all of her siblings. 

Mary was baptized at an early age at Tear Wallet Baptist Church in Cumberland, Va., and after marriage to Garfield, joined his church, the Rocky Mount Baptist Church in Cumberland. In 1958, after relocating to Riverhead, N.Y., she joined First Baptist Church under the pastorate of the late Rev. John Joseph. She joined the senior choir and eventually became the 17th president of the choir. 

She was employed as a seamstress and became a shop steward. Mary was a Past Matron of Tyre Chapter No. 62, Order of the Eastern Star, in Riverhead and also was a member of Club 96, a social and benefit organization. She became a member of American Gold Star Mothers after the death of her son in Vietnam. 

In 2013, her daughters decided they wanted her to visit them in Virginia, where she attended Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Va.; Mt. Gilead Full Gospel International Ministries in Chesterfield, Va.; and Little Zion and Mt. Pero churches in Powhatan, Va. She became a member of Mt. Pero under the Rev. Patrick W. Bland and was designated Mother of the Church on April 7, 2019. 

Our great legacy was called home May 4, 2019, at Memorial Regional Hospital in Mechanicsville, Va. 

She leaves to mourn three daughters, Yvonne Reid of Mechanicsville, Anna Mack (Ronald) of Powhatan and April Armstead of Chesterfield; her eight grandchildren, Harry Brown Jr. (Patricia), Venetia Lewis, Tonya Griffin (Edgar), Maricia Harris (Darrell), Andre Lewis, Monica Moore (Dwayne), Allan J. Reid Jr. (Tanika) and Joseph Garfield Reid; 18 great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchild; one sister-in-law, Annie Harris; three brothers-in-law, Bernard (Eloise), Sherman (Rose) and Tom (Betty) Langhorn; and a host of nieces and nephews on both the Powell and Langhorn sides of her family.

Visitors will be received at Tuthill-Mangano Funeral Home in Riverhead Tuesday, May 14, from 12:30 to 2 p.m., followed by interment at Riverhead Cemetery.

This is a paid notice.