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In memory of

William O. Lange

West Jordan, UT

January 3, 1940 - November 10, 2021

Jan 3, 1940 - Nov 10, 2021

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William Orrin Lange, 81, died peacefully on November 10th, 2021 with his family at his bedside.

Born in Blue Earth, Minnesota on January 3rd, 1940 to Marion and William (Clifford) Lange, Bill grew up with his parents and his sister, Karen, on a farm in Howard, South Dakota. Although working the farm was not his life’s passion, this is where he learned the meaning and importance of hard work, which he carried throughout his life.

On July 3rd, 1958, when he was 18 years old, Bill enlisted in the United States Navy. He was filled with excitement at the thought of serving his country and seeing the world. After being stationed in California and Hawaii, he served on an ocean-going minesweeper, the USS Engage MSO-433, during the Vietnam War era.

A couple of years after his deployment, he was stationed in Oakland, CA. This is where he met and married Patricia, the love of his life. In the years following, Bill was stationed in Hawaii, Diego Garcia, and Adak, AK. Although they weren’t always able to be together, they were always finding ways to make sure the other knew that they were loved. For example, during Bill’s deployment to Diego Garcia, they sent audio cassette tapes to each other rather than letters so they could hear each other’s voices.

After twenty years of honorable and faithful dedication to military service, he transferred from active to reserve duty on June 30th, 1978 and retired from the U.S. Armed Forces on Nov 1st, 1987 with a permanent appointment of SKC.

Once transferred to reserve duty, he and his wife Patricia moved to West Jordan, Utah where they raised their three children alongside a whole slew of dogs, cats, horses and goats.

Many things brought him great joy in life. He had an incredible singing voice that he would use to worship the Lord, sing his kids to sleep at night or at special occasions like his children’s weddings. He was an avid marksman who loved to share his knowledge and was always willing to teach anyone who wanted to learn. He also loved to sit down with friends or family over a cup of coffee and share stories about his travels and experiences. From being raised in a small town in South Dakota and working the farm, to serving his country and traveling the world, he sure did create the life he wanted and a family he was proud of. He faithfully provided for and fiercely loved his family and cared for many people over the years.

Bill lived a life as a good and decent man, filled with a soft, confident strength. All that he did in life came from a deep faith and his genuine desire to be a source of help and strength to those he loved.

He is lovingly remembered by his wife of 54 years, Patricia Lange; his daughter Kristine Corvin, her husband Michael Corvin, and their daughter, Sierra Corvin; his daughter Kathleen Smith and her son, Ashian Smith; his son Daniel Lange, Daniel’s wife, Jesse Lange, and their children, Annaleia Lange and Connor Lange; his sister, Karen Hansen and his dogs Rocco and Papie.

An informal celebration of life will be held at 2:00 PM, Saturday, November 20th at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 8575 S 700 E, Sandy, UT 84070.

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