James T. Lang

James Talley Lang of St. Petersburg, passed away Thursday September 20, 2012 at the age of 90. He was born in Sullivan, Indiana on October 23, 1921 to Bayard Thomas Lang and Nell Elizabeth Talley Lang. The family, along with siblings Elizabeth and Thomas, returned to St. Petersburg when he was 3 years old. He attended St. Petersburg High School, St. Petersburg Junior College and was graduated from the University of Florida where he was a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. During WWII he served aboard the USS KALK escorting convoys to North Africa and later in the Pacific supporting amphibious invasions including campaigns in the Philippines, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. During this time his ship suffered heavy damage with numerous casualties. The KALK was selected to be present in Tokyo Bay where they witnessed the Japanese Surrender Ceremonies on September 2, 1945. Following the War, he returned to St. Petersburg where he joined the local Naval Reserve. During the Berlin Crisis of 1961 he was called back to Active Duty to serve in the Caribbean as commander of the USS Greenwood. He attended the Naval War College following this tour of duty, and retired from the Navy with the rank of Captain. After the War he joined the Shepherd & Klanderman accounting firm, In 1954 he opened his own firm, and later took over the accounting practice of his late father in law, R. H. Gustafson. The firm became known as Lang, Collins and McKelvey. This firm eventually grew into the highly respected statewide firm, Lang, Collins & Gomillion. They later merged with the national firm now known as Grant Thornton. On retirement from his accounting practice, he began a banking career as an Officer at First National Bank, following the footsteps of his father. Jim Lang loved the City of St. Petersburg and was a tireless community leader. He served as President of the Suncoasters (1969), Chairman of the Pinellas County Committee of 100(1969-1970), and was selected Mr. Sun in 1970 for his contributions to the planning and development of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County. He was President of the Florida Institute of CPAs (1972). In 1976, Jay Starkey asked him to help in the creation of Pioneer Park on the waterfront and he served as President of that Foundation for many years. In 1980, while Chairman of the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce, he was instrumental, along with other community leaders, in bringing the Morse collection of Salvador Dali art to St. Petersburg and the creation of the Dali Museum. In 1984 he served as Commodore of the St. Petersburg Yacht Club. He continued his active support of the sailing programs there, and helped build the Youth Sailing Center into the premier facility that it is today. He was a member of First United Methodist Church for many years, a member of the Downtown Rotary Club, the Dragon Club and the Golden Triangle Civic Association. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Dorothy Gustafson Lang, daughter Karen Lang Johnston and husband Eugene Johnston, son James Lang Jr., grandchildren Jaime Waltman, Daniel Sinclair, James Lang III, Katherine Lang, 4 great grandchildren, and nephew Tom Thurston. Funeral services will be held Tuesday, Sept. 25th at 1 PM at First United Methodist Church. The family requests that remembrances be made to any of Jim's community activities.