Mary Jane Lang

Born January 11, 1926, Mary Jane Lang grew up in Philadelphia, Mississippi working in her family store, Williams Brothers. After meeting her husband Eaton A. Lang, Jr. at Ole Miss, she spent  most of her married life on the Mississippi Gulf Coast in Pass Christian. After Eaton’s death, Mary Jane moved to Birmingham, Alabama a decade later where she died on May 17, 2023 at the age of 97.

Mary Jane is survived by her four children:  Jane Lang Byrne of Summerville, South Carolina;  Nancy Lang (Crosby Moss) of Clemmons, North Carolina;  Eaton A. Lang  III “Bud” Lang  (Lucinda Kidd Lang) of Pass Christian, and Bill Lang (Amy Anzalone-Lang) of Birmingham, Alabama. From Georgia and Alabama to Pennsylvania and Tennessee to South Carolina and Mississippi, and beyond, Mary Jane was blessed with eight grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild. Mary Jane was known for her chocolate chip cookies and overflowing candy dish. As a longtime Coast resident, Shrimp Remoulade became one of her most requested dishes.

Growing up Baptist in a large family she surrounded herself with high school friends “Just Us Girls” which became the JUG girls. Mary Jane was a Delta Gamma at Ole Miss. She and Eaton cheered on the Rebels on Saturdays and later the Saints on Sundays or wherever the Manning boys were playing. On Friday nights, you would find Mary Jane and Eaton at a corner table at the Pass Christian Yacht Club with the Woods, Matkins, Taylors, and other close friends. Mary Jane traveled the world but Mississippi was always home. She was just as comfortable on a Mardi Gras float in Pass Christian as she was selling shoes at Williams Brothers or enjoying Sunday Lunch at The Neshoba County Fair. She was a Girl Scout leader for her daughters and also a needlepoint enthusiast.   

Mary Jane’s love for life continued well into her 90s. One of eight children to Amzie and Nanny Mae Williams of Williamsville/Philadelphia, Mississippi, Mary Jane was preceded in death by siblings Katherine Trapp, Cooper Williams, Yvette Roberson, Jonne Mabus, Charles Williams, and Peggy Dees. Her remaining sibling is Gloria Emmons.

Her final years were spent in Birmingham where she was surrounded by family and a team of caregivers from Comfort Care Hospice and South Haven Rehabilitation. The family wishes to thank Cynthia Childress for the special care offered during Mary Jane’s time in Birmingham.

A funeral service will be held on Sunday, May 21 at Bradford O’Keefe Funeral Home, 15^th Street in Gulfport. Visitation will be from 1 to 2 p.m. with a service at 2, followed by burial at Live Oak Cemetery in Pass Christian. Since Mary Jane was an avid reader and in lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Pass Christian Friends of the Library at 11 Hiern Avenue Pass Christian, MS 39571. 

Bradford O’Keefe Funeral Home, 15^th Street, is honored to serve the Lang family.