Mary Louise Armstrong Langdell, 84, peacefully passed away at the Arbors at Shelburne on Tuesday, April 12, 2022. She was born on July 11, 1937, in Kingston, N.Y., to the Reverend James Newton Armstrong Jr. and Jane Louise Storms Armstrong. Mary Lou attended the University of Vermont where she met and married Elroy Lee Langdell in 1958. They welcomed three children into their family and settled in Shelburne.

Mary Lou was an expert speller and pie maker, active in PEO, was an avid gardener, and enjoyed swimming and sailing. Mary Lou loved RV traveling, bird-watching, hiking, biking and walks on the beach with Roy. Mary Lou and Roy were blessed to have a wonderful marriage, enjoying each other’s company and mutual devotion for 63 years!

Mary Lou was preceded in death by her parents and her siblings, Deborah Ann Armstrong Sadowski and Dr. James Haldeman Armstrong. She is survived by her loving husband, Elroy; her children, Cynthia, Jeffrey, and Richard; her six grandchildren, Jesse and David Knoff, Kyle and Courtney, and Kitt and Edmond; and one great-grandchild, Estelle. Mary Lou had the joy of sharing being great-grandmothers to Estelle with her very best friend, Betsy Silcox of Shelburne.

Mary Lou’s death will leave a keen loss in the life of her family, but they will bear up because they believe their loved one is once again completely whole and happy. We praise God for the gift of Mary Louise Langdell’s life and for all she has meant to so many people; her memory and spirit lives on.

Mary Lou remembers that on the day before her mother died, she said to her: “Isn’t it wonderful? There is a perfect natural order of things. From the moment we are born God has a plan for us which is beautiful!”

Our family sends a special thank you to the entire staff at the Arbors for their outstanding compassion and care, and especially thank you for Roy’s daily morning breakfasts with Mary Lou! A special thank you to WCAX-TVs Cat Viglienzoni for her thoughtful, compassionate reporting and advocating for Vermont seniors and their families during this pandemic.