MAX RAYMOND LANGHAM

Max Raymond Langham died on April 30, 2016 in Jacksonville, Florida at the age of 86. He was born on February 28, 1930 to Samuel Alvin and Helen Agnes (nee Wise) Langham, in Tamalco Township, Bond County, Illinois. He was the seventh of eight children. He married Anna LuEsta Meyer on September 3, 1954 and this love affair and partnership would last nearly 52 years until her death in 2006. Together they raised 4 children. In 2009, he moved from Gainesville to Jacksonville Beach and lived with his son Sam and his family. 
He is survived by children, grandchildren and a great grandson: Max, Sue (nee Hampton), Andrew and Stephen Langham, Audrey (nee Langham), Jim and Jasper Rudick; Matthew, Luann (nee Langham), Matthew, Christopher and William Jacobs; Jim, Dana (nee Leavy), Emily, Wesley and Jeremy Langham; Sam, Lauren (nee Parsons), Anna and Sarah Langham.  He is also survived by two sisters:  Wisene Green of Camarillo, California, and Ruth Gleason, of Heathesville, Virginia; his other siblings, Joyce Rathfon, Alvin Jr. Langham, Virginia Schroeder, Dolores Kratz, Dode Langham, and an unnamed brother who died in childbirth preceded him in death.
He never lost a love of learning that was initially nurtured in a two-room rural schoolhouse where his father had previously taught, and led to a PhD in Agricultural Economics in 1961 from the University of Illinois.  He served in the 301st Bombardment Group SAC during the Korean War. He started his teaching career at LSU, then in 1962, joined the faculty at the University of Florida. Over the next 33 years he rose from Assistant Professor to Professor Emeritus. His academic and professional career was marked by a constant pursuit of knowledge. His primary interest was teaching and mentoring graduate students from a wide variety of countries. He was honored for these efforts in 1982 by the Graduate Student Organization. Colleagues at the University of Florida started the Max and Annie Langham Graduate Award fund to help offset travel costs for graduate students presenting at professional conferences. He was a sustaining contributor to this fund. In addition to teaching, he authored or coauthored numerous book chapters, research articles, bulletins and technical reports. His focus included sustainability of production, the effect of pesticide residuals, and land reform. He served from 1972-1974 as an Associate and then Co-Editor of the American Journal of Agricultural Economics. He was a visiting Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota1968-1969, and served as a Research Officer for the Agricultural Development Council in Southeast Asia from 1976 to 1977. He taught and worked as an Economic Advisor at the University of Dschang in Cameroon from 1989 to 1991 (in the UF / Florida A&M / USAID / Government of Cameroon Project). He was elected as a U.S. Council Member for the International Association of Agricultural Economists. After retirement from UF he taught at the University of West Indies, initiated a research project on agricultural productivity in Trinidad and Tobago, served as a consultant to the Carter’s Center Global Development Initiative in Guyana, and taught a graduate course in Economic Development and Trade at Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda. 
Throughout his life he relished competition and sought to excel in everything he did. He was an optimist who balanced his professional career with family and church. He loved quail hunting, slow pitch softball, and participating with his sons in Boy Scouts. Max and Annie entertained frequently and introduced their children to graduate students and professional visitors from around the world. Together they created community wherever they went. 
Guided in life by a strong moral compass, a foundational belief in the equality of all and an abiding vision of a better world through education, he promoted international cooperation and solutions to some of our world’s most difficult problems. 
A memorial and celebration of his life will be held in southern Illinois on June 18th, 2016. In lieu of flowers his children ask that donations be made to the UF Food & Resource Economics Department at https://www.uff.ufl.edu/OnlineGiving/FundDetail.asp?FundCode=001073&app… or to the Alzheimer’s Association at www.alz.org.