Kerry Anne Langton (formerly Megale) passed away peacefully on the evening of June 14, 2019, at her home on Vashon Island, Washington with her family at her side. For the previous three and a half years, Kerry had faced metastatic lung cancer with extraordinary strength, courage, and grace.
Born on July 10, 1953, in Pleasanton, California to Mary Anne and Donald Manuel Megale, Kerry grew up in Klamath Falls and Corvallis, Oregon, and Salt Lake City, Utah. Following her graduation from Corvallis High School in 1971, she attended Marylhurst College for a year before a neck injury—the result of her usual exuberance—required her to return home to complete her education at Oregon State University. She graduated with a B.S. in Education in 1975 and later earned an M.Ed. from Trenton State University. Teaching would become Kerry’s life-long passion and the professional medium through which she would touch lives around the world.
A certified scuba instructor, Kerry was managing a dive shop in Medford, Oregon in 1980 when she met her future husband Nick Langton, who had just returned from the Peace Corps in Nepal. They immediately fell in love. On their first date, Nick took Kerry to climb Mt. Thielsen in Southern Oregon, where they were caught in a snowstorm—the first of many adventures and misadventures shared in the mountains. Not to be outdone, Kerry arranged their second date as a cold-water dive off the Oregon Coast. Four months later, Kerry and Nick married at Union Creek, Oregon, promising each other lives of love and adventure. They promptly departed for Nepal to lead treks in the Himalayas and train Peace Corps volunteers.
Kerry and Nick would spend the next thirty years living and traveling abroad. In Southern Sudan, where Nick worked with Ugandan refugees, Kerry opened a branch of the American School of Khartoum and taught a multi-grade classroom of international students, revealing her ability to create an oasis of learning from scratch. After capping their time in Africa with a climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro in 1985, Kerry and Nick returned to Asia in 1986. As Nick pursued a career in international development, Kerry taught or served on the board of international schools in Kenya, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Nepal, and India. She was a creative, energetic, and compassionate early-learning teacher whom parents fought for and students loved.
Family was always Kerry’s top priority. She and Nick adopted their son Tashi in Nepal in 1988. Six months later Kerry gave birth in Thailand to daughter Farah. They adopted daughter Mercedes in the Philippines in 1999. Their rainbow family grew up in Asia, trekking and scuba diving during school breaks. They spent summer vacations in their small cabin above Burton, where Kerry turned out gourmet meals on two electric burners for a constant stream of family and friends. Kerry and Nick moved to Vashon permanently following Kerry’s cancer diagnosis, bringing them close to their three children who had relocated to the Pacific Northwest.
Kerry is survived by her husband Nick Langton of Vashon; their children Tashi Langton (Catherine) of Tacoma, Farah Powell (Connor) of Renton, and Mercedes Langton of Vashon; their grandchildren Mosaic Langton-Gleizes and Rylan Powell; mother Mary Anne Megale of Boise, Idaho, father Donald Megale of Corvallis, Oregon, and five siblings: Don Megale, Jr. (Cindy), Mike Megale (Kim), and Rich Megale (Lori) of Boise, Idaho; Tony Megale (Jennifer) of Philomath, Oregon; and Laura Faes (Pat) of Phoenix, Arizona. While Kerry will be forever missed, those she touched will always be buoyed and inspired by her love of life, grounded wisdom, enduring faith, and infectious laugh.
Kerry’s memorial service will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 10th at St. John Vianney Catholic Church, 16100 115th Avenue SW, Vashon, WA, 98070. Flowers may be sent to the church. Kerry’s family is deeply grateful to Dr. Laura Chow, Dr. Sylvia Lee, and many others at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA) for their care and support through her illness. Donations in lieu of flowers may be sent to SCCA, Attn: Donations, P.O. Box 19023, Seattle WA 98109-1023. Checks may be made payable to SCCA with an indication that they are in memory of Kerry Anne Langton. To make a donation by phone, call (206) 606-2070 or (877) 308-3177, or to make an online donation visit the SCCA Donation page at secure.seattecca.org/. Donations made in memory of Kerry will be designated for Lung Cancer Research.
