Pay It Forward

After seeing the care and compassion his wife, Jenny, received from Angela Hospice in 2019, Bob Langan knew he wanted to give back.

And he’s now found a way how.

Bob joined the Angela Hospice board in December 2022, and is using this as his moment to pay it forward for all Angela Hospice did for him and his family when Jenny was a patient.

“I was deeply moved and affected by their care,” he said.

Jenny was an Angela Hospice patient for nearly 10 months and during that time, even though Jenny was in home care, she and Bob were able to have a special night together in the Care Center, where they ate a really well-made dinner in a thoughtfully decorated room. They were given a beautiful moment that Bob will cherish forever.

That moment still brings tears to his eyes.

“Her death was imminent at this time… there was no getting around that fact,” Bob said. “But it was beautiful the way they did it, and it was touching and it was meaningful. It was great.”

Because of the experience Bob and his family had – including with Angela Hospice nurse, Eric Simpkins, who Bob called one of the top five humans he’s ever met in his life – he does want people to know that there’s so much more to hospice than meets the eye, and that it’s for end-of-life care, not simply just dying. He also believes Angela Hospice provides the highest level of compassion, grace, and dignity one can get while on hospice. Much like the kind of care he and his family received.

“What they’ve given me and my family is incalculable, and I just hope to… a little bit, be that to Angela Hospice, to so-called return the favor,” Bob said.

Bob brings with him over 27 years of experience as a lawyer in business and real estate matters, an extensive background in finance and economics, and is a practicing Catholic — all of which will make him a well-rounded board member.

And even though Bob didn’t have any specific goals about what he would like to accomplish while on the Angela Hospice board, there was one thing he did mention: that ultimately, he hopes he will be able to contribute meaningfully.

When we spoke, he was only a few days away from his first board meeting and was excited to meet all the other board members.

“I’m very excited to learn the ropes and identify where I can contribute the most meaningfully,” Bob said. “I’m just eager to start and eager to contribute.”

Angela Hospice is eager for that too.