NEWS

'Whitney was just full of life'

Ashleigh Wilde | 850-682-6524 | @cnbAshleigh | awilde@crestviewbulletin.com

CRESTVIEW — Whitney Langley’s family remembers her as an enthusiastic girl who really loved sports.

“Whitney was just full of life,” said her mother, Marge Langley.

Whitney’s enjoyment of sports escalated when she started playing softball.

“Her father had a big impact on that,” Marge said of her daughter’s love for the game. “Her older sisters played and Greg (Whitney’s father) was always there with them.”

Greg always enjoyed seeing his daughter compete and win.

“She was very competitive,” Greg said. “She did not like to lose.”

Whitney was the pitcher on her softball teams. She played at both Crestview High School and Lurleen B. Wallace Community College in Alabama.

Whitney’s sister, Holly Gibson, said playing softball together at the college is one of her favorite memories.

“That was the best time we had,” Holly said. “We lived in our own apartment together. We were kind of away from mom and dad, but not too far. That was a lot of fun doing that together.”

Whitney passed away on July 16, 2007, from injuries she sustained in a car accident the day before.

“The first year was very traumatic for all of us,” Marge said. “People were so supportive and so kind. It was amazing and that had such a tremendous impact on us. That provoked us to give back."

A year after her passing, Whitney’s family decided to use her love of softball to keep her alive through the Whitney Megan Langley Memorial Softball Scholarship.

“As parents you don’t forget a child,” Marge said. “It was just to kind of give back.”

Marge said she had no idea how to even start the scholarship, so she asked the high school for help.

“I called and talked to Mrs. Hayes at the high school,” Marge said. “She knew Whitney, so I just asked her how I would go about it and she was so supportive. She said they would get it wrote up and started.”

The $500 scholarship is given to the Crestview softball player who exemplifies three characteristics that Whitney had: leadership, teamwork and dedication.

“It was such a big part of our life that we wanted to stay involved in it,” Holly said.

Everything came full circle for the family in 2015 when Holly coached the Crestview softball team to a victory over Niceville for the first time in 10 years. The win came on what would have been Whitney’s 27th birthday.

“It was just so sweet,” Marge said. “It brought all the memories of her back, but in a good way. It was very healing.”