Dist. 204 teacher loses long fight against cancer

During her eight years working with special needs students at Indian Prairie Unit District 204's Patterson Elementary School, Beth Langley was described as both a "dynamo" and a "pistol" for her mix of a no-holds-barred style and the compassion she brought to the classroom.

Langley, a Naperville resident, lost a long battle with cancer Sunday, leaving behind a husband and two adult daughters.

"(Langley) was such a powerful teacher, a dynamo. There's going to be a big hole at Patterson," said longtime friend and kindergarten teacher Cristy White. "I don't know how I'm going to walk in that building in the fall without her."

Both White and Patterson Principal Quynh Nguyen said Langley lived to see her students achieve their individual goals and succeed in the classroom.

"It takes a unique person to work with students with special needs and do it well," Nguyen said. "The smile she wore to school every morning just told the students how caring and nurturing she was and that allowed them to thrive under her leadership."

White's class often shared reading block times with Langley. Her children would always want to go to Langley's room, eventually causing Langley to break the blocks into "boy days" and "girl days" in her class.

"You'd think they were going to Disneyland," White said. "But they were just going down the hall to read with her. That's how special she was to all of our kids."

Near the end of the year, Nguyen said, the Patterson School community donated $9,700 to the Love for Langley Fund to help with her medical expenses.

Langley's visitation and funeral service will be at Friedrich-Jones Funeral Home, 44 S. Mill St., Naperville.

Visitation will be from 3 to 8 p.m. today. The funeral service will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday.