LANGLEY, MAXINE F. - Hutchinson County, Texas | MAXINE F. LANGLEY - Texas Gravestone Photos

Maxine F. LANGLEY

Highland Park Cemetery
Hutchinson County,
Texas

1931-1966

Photo/information, courtesy of Edith Guynes Stanley

*Obituary
AMARILLO - A Borger couple were killed almost instantly about 8:45 p.m. Thursday when their automobile slammed into the side of a moving Rock Island Freight Train engine at a marked, but unlighted, crossing on Farm Road 1912, six miles east of Amarillo. Dead are Mr. and Mrs. Albert W. Langley.

The Langley's two children, officials said, orphaned by the tragedy were critically injured in the grinding crash and were confined today to Northwest Texas Hospital for treatment.

Joseph W. Langley, 12, sustained a broken leg and internal injuries. He was pinned in the wreckage for more than 30 minutes before frantic rescue workers could free him.

Linda Fransene, 14, suffered back and neck injuries and was reported suffering from deep shock.

Funeral services for Mr. and Mrs. Langley were pending this morning with Simpson Funeral Home of Borger.

The train, Number 26, was on its regular run from Tucumcari, N.M., to Memphis. Engineer J.L. Jones, Amarillo, told officers he saw the auto approaching the crossing, blew the train whistle several times and then applied the train's emergency braking system, but that the Langley vehicle was unable to stop and the train and auto collided, the car smashing into the side of the engine about midway between the front and back of the power unit.

Mr. and Mrs. Langley were thrown from the vehicle and their bodies were found about 30 feet from the wreckage near the auto's engine which had been ripped from the chassis by the impact. Both were pronounced dead at the scene.

The crash jammed the door on the left side of the late-model station wagon, pinning young Joe in the car...probably saving his life, but fracturing a thigh bone and inflicting internal injuries.

About a dozen men, using pry bars and their hands, worked more than half an hour to free him. Ambulance attendants from Amarillo and and from Amarillo Air Force Base attempted to ease his pains during the near frantic attempt to pull the smashed auto apart enough to get him out.

The rear door on the left side was jammed by the crash, the back of the rear seat was forced forward and pinned him against the jammed door.

After several minutes, the volunteer and official rescue crew resorted to axes to free him, using a winch line to pull the door open.

Suffering from apparent severe pain, the 12-year-old youngster directed some of the operations, gritting his teeth when pressure had to be applied to the door.

He cried out several times during the process but was finally eased onto a stretcher from an Amarillo Air Force base ambulance and because of the closeness to the AAFB hospital was taken there before being transferred to Northwest hospital where his sister was being treated.

Investigating highway patrol officers said the auto was going north when the accident happened and the train was eastbound. Ironically, both had begun journeys out of Amarillo about the same time, estimated to be 8:30 p.m.

The Langley family had been on a Thanksgiving outing to the home of Mrs. Langley's mother in Amarillo and were returning to Borger.

Officers had a difficult time locating relatives of the family since it was several minutes before it was determined that the victims were Borger residents and Mrs. Langley's Amarillo relatives were unknown.

Neighbors and relatives converged on the hospital to be with the children.

Langley was part owner of Eckler Machine Shop in Borger and his wife was bookkeeper for the firm.

Albert W. (Frip) Langley was 43. Surviving him are the children of the home, his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Lester Langley, Borger; four brothers, W.M. (Lefty) Langley of Phillips; Lawrence Langley, Burney, Calif.; Billy D. of San Antonio; Lester Dan of Bryan; two sisters, Mrs. A.R. Moore, Phillips and Mrs. A.S. Johnson, Oklahoma City.

Mrs. Maxine Langley, 35, is survived by the children, her mother, Mrs. Ray Hogan, Amarillo and two brothers, Justin and Robert Hogan of the Amarillo home.

Mrs. Langley's father was the late Thurman Howe, a Borger police officer killed while on duty here ten years ago.

(Published in Borger News Herald, November 25, 1966)
---

Funeral services for Mr. and Mrs. Albert W. Langley, victims of a grinding auto - train collision east of Amarillo late Thursday, will be held at 2 p.m. Monday at Central Baptist Church in Borger.

The Rev. Gus Bogan, pastor, assisted by the Rev. Gordon Parker, pastor of Gateway Baptist Church, will officiate.

Burial will be in Highland Park Cemetery under the direction of Simpson Funeral Home.

Masonic graveside rites for Mr. Langley, most well known as "Frip" Langley, will be under auspices of Isom Masonic Lodge, 1242, and lodge members are requested to meet at the Lodge Hall on West Grand at 1 p.m.

The Langleys died instantly Thursday when their auto slammed into the side of a freight train engine.

It was learned today that the Langley's two children, critically injured in the crash, are scheduled to make their home with Mrs. Ray Hogan, 4806 Westway in Amarillo, their maternal grandmother.

The Langley family had eaten Thanksgiving dinner with Mrs. Hogan before their station wagon struck the train engine.

The children remain in Northwest Texas Hospital, Amarillo. Lynda, 14, has been removed from the critical list, and was described as being in "serious" condition Saturday by hospital officials.

Joe, 12, remained in critical condition with a broken thigh and head injuries.

Langley, 43, was a partner in Eckler Machine Shop. His wife, 35, was a bookkeeper for the firm.

His survivors include parents, Mr. and Mrs. Lester Langley of Borger; brothers, W.M. (Lefty) of Phillips, Lawrence of Burney, Calif., Billy D. of San Antonio and Lester Dan of Bryan; and sisters, Mrs. A. R. Moore of Phillips and Mrs. A.S. Johnson of Oklahoma City.

Besides the children and her mother, Mrs. Langley is survived by brothers, Justin Lynn Hogan and Robert Earl Hogan, both of 4806 Westway in Amarillo, and her maternal grandmother, Mrs. Mattie Whitaker of Fabens.

(Published in Borger News Herald, November 27, 1966)

Contributed on 7/15/21

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Record #: 437132

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Submitted: 7/15/21 • Approved: 7/15/21 • Last Updated: 7/18/21 • R437132-G437132-S3

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