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Frances Strong “Bunny” (Bogardus) Lang. Bunny was born January 15, 1931, in Bronxville, NY, the daughter of John Arthur Bogardus and Elinor Morris Strong, and sister of John (Jack) Bogardus Jr.
She is survived by William (Bud) Clark Lang, her husband of 64 years, who she married on April 7th, 1956. She leaves behind her daughter-in-law Elizabeth Ann (Betty Ann), of Coventry, RI and grandchildren: James of West Warwick, and Kathrine of Warwick; Sallie, wife Erika, and grandchild, Helen YuYu, all of Oakland, CA; John (Jack), and his wife Jennifer, and grandchildren: John, Morgan Frances, and Jordan, all of Pembroke, MA. She was predeceased by her sons: Andrew, in 2002; William Jr, deceased in infancy, and Daniel, deceased in infancy.
She was a graduate of The Masters School, and Skidmore College, class of 1950.
Bunny was a very active volunteer all her life. She was President of the Women’s Auxiliary and member of the Board of Trustees of The Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in West Orange, NJ. As a member of Warwick Community Action, she shopped for and visited the home-bound. For 20 years, she coordinated the blood donation drives at the East Greenwich United Methodist Church. She was a regular blood donor, donating over 100 pints of blood throughout her life. She organized the ushers and was a greeter at the East Greenwich United Methodist Church for many years.
Bunny loved all sports, as both a player and a spectator. She spent countless hours at her children’s and grandchildren’s sporting events, and was an embarrassingly loud cheerer – you surely knew when she was at your game. But she wasn’t just about spectating. She was a fantastic athlete, good at all sports, especially excelling at racket sports. She was an excellent competitive paddle tennis player, and won many trophies. She also golfed, and was very proud to have gotten a hole in one at Goddard Park Golf Course in 1990. In her later years, she loved walking, and she went at pace. You had better be in shape if you wanted to keep up.
Bunny and Bud bought a summer cottage on the water in Maine in 1961, and the family spent their summers there. Bud was the sailor, Bunny the expert canoeist. When their kids were little, they would take them out trolling for mackerel in Bunny’s canoe, “the Big Bun.” Life was lived mostly on the porch, where she could see Andy lobstering, Bud and Sallie sailing, and Jack zipping across the bay in a speedboat. The porch was also the place for sitting and chatting with friends, cocktails and snacks, wildlife viewing, and watching the lobster boats. She loved watching a good lightning storm darken the sky and blow across the bay. One of her favorite sights was a clear night moon path across the still water.
Bunny was an animal lover who loved feeding wild birds, but closest to her heart were dogs. Bunny and Bud always had dogs, and her great love of dogs has been passed down to all her children and grandchildren.
Bunny had a wonderful sense of humor, and could find the lighter side of any situation. She could always be counted on for accurate weather and traffic reports. If you dropped by to say hello, you’d get a peppermint patty or a Hershey’s kiss dropped in your hand. If anything difficult was happening in your life, she would ‘put the angels on you.”
Bunny was a wonderful loving and considerate wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, sister and friend. She always thought about others first. No matter what was going on, she always wanted to know how you were doing. She spent the final days of her life in the loving and attentive care of Betty Ann, with the help of her sister Debbie, at Betty Ann’s house, attended with love by Bud, Sallie, and Jack. She will be deeply missed by us all.
A memorial service will be held this Saturday December 18, at 10:00 AM at the East Greenwich United Methodist Church in East Greenwich. In lieu of flowers please donate to The Tomorrow Fund, or the charity of your choice.
You can leave an online condolence at the funeral home HERE.
I didn’t know Bunny, but wish I had. I was on this site reading the obituary of a high school friend who passed away suddenly Dec. 3. I happened on Bunny’s obituary by accident, and I wanted to be sure to let her husband and family know how endearing it was. I smiled heartily when I read that she was an “embarrassingly loud cheerer.” And I wish I could have sat with her on her beloved porch. Please accept my sincerest condolences.