Longtime Woodland resident Charles Langston, who spent his career working on Yolo County farms and volunteering as a youth sports coach, passed away on May 3, 2024, from complications of congestive heart failure. He was 83.

A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. on Monday, May 20 at McNary’s Chapel, 458 College St., Woodland. Attendees are invited to a reception following the service. A private burial will be held at a later date.

Charles was born on March 20, 1941, in Santa Rosa during the World War II era. He spent most of his childhood in Woodland and was among the youngest of five children. Being a big, strong boy helped him excel at Woodland High School as a leading tackle on the football team, heavyweight wrestler and shot-putter before graduation in 1960.

His high school interests extended well beyond sports, including having fun as a troublemaker in study hall. That’s where he sat behind Darlene Rominger, two years his younger, and broke her pencils and tugged on her hair. While these actions sent Charles to the principal’s office, they also became the catalyst to a future relationship with Darlene. They married in 1965.

During the 1960s, Charles served as a chef in the California National Guard, which took him around the state in times of crisis and pageantry. He was on scene for the 1965 Watts Riots and various times of civil unrest in Oakland. Charles also participated in the Honor Guard during the 1967 gubernatorial inauguration of Ronald Reagan.

Closer to home, he found work on Yolo County farmlands, tending to almonds, tomatoes and other crops. He spent 28 years as a Yolo County field assistant technician for the UC Davis Cooperative Extension. In 1979, he injured his right foot in a grain harvester, later requiring amputation. Charles was adamant that the injury wasn’t going to change his way of life. He carried on with farming until 1995, many fellow workers not even knowing he had a prosthesis.

When Charles wasn’t jumping ditches on the farms, he was an active youth sports coach. Darlene and Charles gave wonderful care to their daughter, Annette (born in 1968), and volunteered with the Yolo County Special Olympics to support her and other children with intellectual disabilities. Charles volunteered as a coach (including track and basketball) not only for the Special Olympics, but also for 10 years as manager with Woodland’s Pop Warner football league.

Charles loved football and was an avid 49ers fan, cheering them on through eight Super Bowl appearances. He also enjoyed fishing, hunting fowl and pheasants near his home and hunting deer on the Rominger Ranch in Bangor. Charles was an active member of the Woodland Elks Lodge No. 1299 (where he was a youth director and cook) and American Legion Yolo Post 77.

Charles is survived by his wife of 59 years, Darlene Langston, daughter Annette Langston, brother John Dunton, sister Susan Ward, cousin James Calibro, nephew Clifford Langston, sister-in-law Kathleen Huff, and nephews Ryan Huff and Tyler Huff. Charles was preceded in death by his mother Alvera (Vera) Langston, father John Dunton, step-father Dude Langston, and sisters Arlene (Tyke) Cox and Anna Marie (Midge) Waldemar.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made in Charles’ name by mailing a check to the Yolo Volunteer Fire Department, P.O. Box 11, Yolo, CA 95697.

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