Johann Wilhelm Langmaack

John was born on February 24, 1941, in Rumohr, Germany to Hans and Helena (Witthinrich) Langmaack. He grew up in Rumohr on his family’s farm; while there were some hard times during the war, John’s mom was an excellent cook, and their farm provided them with what they needed. In 1960, John moved to the United States as part of a foreign exchange program. He began to learn English and studied to become a citizen. In 1963, John would visit his sister every Sunday and she had a good friend who lived two houses down from her, Margie Taylor. When Margie would come by, he would hide behind a newspaper (it was sometimes upside down because he hadn’t learned to read English yet). After a while, Johann asked his sister if she thought Margie would go out with him and she encouraged him to ask her. When Johann called and asked, Margie said, “no”. Luckily before he hung up the phone, he noticed she was still talking and picked the phone back up. She explained that she was going out of town but would be happy to go out with him the following week. On April 13, 1964, John and Margie were married at Fort McClellan, AL, with two soldiers as their witnesses. After their wedding, the Army sent John to Korea and Margie returned to Nebraska. Although they got onto separate flights, they both had a layover in Texas and John was able to surprise Margie at the airport during their layovers. John wrote Margie a letter every day until he returned a year later. Upon his discharge from the Army, John began a business, Langmaack Construction, and Margie worked as his secretary. Along with running the business, John worked hard doing both construction and painting for his company. On the weekends, John and Margie would go out to eat together, and El Bees was John’s favorite place to go. They would also go dancing together at Peony Park. John enjoyed watching game shows, especially “The Price Is Right” and “Let’s Make a Deal.” Both John and his brother, Klaus, liked to scare people and could be found hiding in a dark room or closet ready to jump out or grab someone to give them a fright. Most of all, John loved to fix things and did a lot of work on cars. He could spend hours out in his shop tinkering on his projects. John had a big sweet tooth and loved all desserts, especially ice cream. John loved that when he married Margie, he also gained a daughter, Terri. The births of his grandsons and great grandchildren were very important to him. John loved his family and enjoyed spending time with them. John loved to talk to people and tell stories. If someone was ready to leave and he said one more minute, he could easily keep talking for four more hours. He would make sure, “Are you Listening?” tell you to “Think about that” and would always tell everyone “Don’t worry about it.” John could also be very hardheaded, but he would say that was just the German in him. Since John didn’t have as much work in the winters with a construction business, he and his family would often travel to Florida. He would take his motor home and they would camp and fish. Sometimes it would be the whole family and other times John would take special trips with one or both of his grandsons. He liked teaching the boys how to fish and also taught them how to ride bikes. He was always so happy when his grandsons were able to come over. John and Margie loved each other very much, and each year on Sweethearts Day he would buy Margie a dozen red roses and chocolates, and she would tell him he shouldn’t spend so much money and then would share the chocolates with him. John would get sweet notes from Margie, and she would sign them “Your Leibling” (German for “your sweetheart”). John was preceded in death by his wife of 57 years, Margie Langmaack; parents, Hans and Helena Langmaack, his sister-in-law, Mary Ann Langmaack, and brothers-in-law Klaus Mordhorst and Willard Christensen. He is survived by daughter, Terri (Brad) Gralheer; grandchildren, Brandon (Kristina) Gralheer and Chris (Amber) Gralheer; great-grandchildren: Blakely, Lennon, and Lincoln; Cooper, Braxton, and Reilly Gralheer; siblings, Marga Mordhorst, Peter (Karin) Langmaack, Marianne Christensen, and Klaus Langmaack; and many nieces and nephews Funeral service 11 AM Thursday, 6/19/25 at Reichmuth Funeral Home Elkhorn with visitation one hour prior. Private interment with military honors at Omaha National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials to the Alzheimer’s Association.

Johann Wilhelm Langmaack

February 24, 1941 - June 13, 2025