B.J. Langdon Nursing Scholarship

Langdon was born in 1937, in Haxtun. Her family lived in Paoli until 1942, the oldest of four children, Langdon helped her dad with farming, operated farm equipment and helped milk the cows. Langdon attended Fairfield School and Haxtun High School. She graduated from HHS in 1955. After high school, she went on to graduate from Swedish Covenant School of Nursing, in Chicago, in 1960. In September of that year, she married Don Langdon and began work as a charge nurse on the pediatric wing at the Sterling hospital. Then in 1961, they bought a farm one mile from Fleming. Langdon helped with the farming and ranching.

In the fall of 1962, the practical nursing program was started at NJC. Langdon was the main clinical instructor the first year.

Over the years, from 1962 until 1998, when Langdon retired, she taught every class in the program. She originated the Introduction to Gerontology class, which assisted students who worked in nursing homes. For many years, she worked a few hours each week in a clinical setting, while teaching, to keep her nursing skills current.

Being a diploma graduate, after she began teaching at NJC, she attended NJC and Colorado State University to obtain a bachelor’s degree and eventually a master’s. Later, she attended the University of Northern Colorado at night for one year to do graduate course work in gerontology.

Langdon served as chairperson of the NJC Faculty Organization for two years. Langdon recalls telling the college she would stay for one year, when they first asked her to start teaching, and she ended up staying 35 years.

Since retiring from NJC, she has worked part time as a home care nurse, a nurse consultant in an Alzheimer’s facility and as a substitute teacher in the Fleming school. She remains an avid supporter of the NJC Nursing Department.