Obituary - R. C. Lange

R. C. 'Speed' Lange, Ex-Latah Sheriff, Dies

R.C. "Speed" Lange, former Latah County sheriff, died yesterday at his cottage on Lake Chatcolet. He was 66.

"He was a good man, a good friend and a good law enforcement officer," said Sheriff Ed Pierson at his office this morning.

Before his 12-year term as sheriff Lange was Moscow police chief. Prior to holding that position he was an Idaho State patrolman with a beat from the Salmon River to the Canadian border.

He was born Nov. 10, 1909, in Moscow, to Edward and Christina Lange. The family lived near Minneapolis for a few years before returning to Moscow. He attended schools in Moscow and Genesee.

Lange worked at the former Charles Schroeder Bakery, now the Moscow Bakery, for a few years before joining the Moscow Police in 1935 as a special policeman.

He married the former Florence Melder Oct. 20, 1930, in Moscow.

During World War II he was a military policeman at an aluminum plant in Trentwood, Wash. He joined the state patrol after the war, then became Moscow police chief. In 1952, after a dispute with the city council over patrolmen's salaries, he lost that position and for the next six years operated a snack bar in Pullman.

He was elected sheriff in 1958 and resigned in 1971 because of ill health. He had had several major operations during the last few years to correct artery and heart problems.

Lange was a member of the Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Moscow, and a lifetime member of several police organizations.

In addition to his wife at the family home, survivors include two brothers, Clarence and E.E. of Richland, Wash.; a sister, June Lange of Tustin, Calif.; a son, Jerry of Spokane, and two grandsons.

Idahonian, January 23, 1975, p. 10

Memorial Service

A memorial service will be held Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Moscow. The family requests no flowers. The family suggests memorials be made to the Heart Fund or the donor's favorite charity.

Arrangements are being handled by the Browning Funeral Home, St. Maries.

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Transcribed by Jill Leonard Nock