Submitted by the Family
MARSHFIELD, MASS. — Gary Phillip Langenbach of Marshfield passed away quietly at home on August 29, 2024. He was born in Boston on September 15, 1948, to the late Frederick and Marjorie (Hawkins) Langenbach.
Gary was a graduate of Bridgewater-Raynham Regional High School (1966) and Bridgewater State College (Biology, 1970), where he also earned a master’s degree in biology in 1976. After teaching science at Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical High School for many years, he founded his own antiques business, Langenbach’s Fine Arts and Antiques, in Kingston, Mass., bringing to it a deep passion and a wealth of knowledge gained through over 40 years of learning about the beauty and history of the antiques he sold. Gary shared this history in stories that inspired a similar curiosity and interest in his customers and listeners. Gary incorporated his lifelong passion for baseball into his antiques business, collecting historical baseball memorabilia.
Gary had many hobbies and interests over the years, including Enduro motorcycle racing, fishing and clamming, scuba diving, woodturning and gardening. He was a star football and baseball player and valued member of his teams in both high school and college, and he remained a passionate fan of both sports.
He was an invaluable leader in the conservation community. He served for two decades as the chair of the Wildlands Trust Lands Committee, where his lifetime of exploring the remote corners of Southeastern Massachusetts and his knowledge of open lands brought depth and weight to their land conservation and management decisions. As one member of that committee commented, “in addition to being a stalwart champion of our mission, Gary was a delight to work with, and always maintained a keen wit no matter the situation . . . Gary seemed to know every back road and ancient way throughout the region we serve — we never needed GPS with him as our copilot.”
In Kingston, Gary brought that same knowledge and dedication to his involvement in the town. In the 1980s, he successfully led an effort to preserve box turtle habitat in Kingston. He was a member and sometimes chair of four town committees: the Open Space Committee for six years, where he was one of the original members; the Conservation Commission for 20 years; the Recycling Committee for thirteen years; and the Community Preservation Committee for two years. Under his leadership, the Open Space Committee produced the town’s first Open Space plan. During his tenure the town preserved many important parcels of open space. A member of the Conservation Commission noted that Gary knew the history of almost every parcel coming before the Commission, which gave them valuable context for their decisions. His high standards for wetland protection and his deep knowledge and convictions made him unafraid to stand up to lawyers, town officials, or others who sought to challenge Commission decisions.
He attended Town Meeting for all of his years in Kingston, where he advocated passionately and fiercely for conservation and open space causes.
Gary’s knowledge of art and Massachusetts history was a valuable resource for the Kingston Public Library’s local history archives. He consulted on the valuation of various items in their collection, provided background information and donated items from his own collections to the Library archives.
In his later years, Gary traveled widely with his partner Jencie, often to visit family and friends or attend cultural events, always welcoming new experiences.
Gary is survived by his partner Jencie Stewart, also of Marshfield; his older brother James Langenbach and his wife Mary Jane of Mystic, Conn.; and his sister Cheryl Curran and her husband Thomas of Sandwich, Mass. He is also survived by five nieces and one nephew in the Langenbach family, two nephews and one niece in the Stewart family and by many grandnieces and grandnephews. He was much beloved by cousins and others in both families, particularly the children. He also leaves a goddaughter, Emily Skerritt, with whom he maintained a close relationship.
Gary will be remembered by those that knew him for his integrity and honesty, his easy manner with children, his broad knowledge and his lifelong curiosity about so many things.
A Celebration of Life service will be held on Saturday, November 2, 2024 from 2 to 4 pm, at the Wildlands Trust Barn (675 Long Pond Road in Plymouth, Mass.) Donations in Gary’s memory may be made to the Wildlands Trust, by mail to 675 Long Pond Road, Plymouth, MA 02360 or online at www.wildlandstrust.org.
