Ada E. Langenstrass, 86, of Elk Grove Village, a homemaker, died of pneumonia Monday, April 2, in Fair Oaks Health Care Center in Crystal Lake. She was raised near Humboldt Park in Chicago and married her husband, Richard, in 1935. While in Chicago, Mrs. Langenstrass made buttonholes for the Works Progress Administration, a public works program established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1951 the couple moved to Lombard to raise a family, and in the 1960s Mrs. Langenstrass joined the True Blue chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star, a fraternal organization, and eventually became an instructress emeritus. When Richard started a custom mold polishing business in 1970, the two resettled in Elk Grove Village. “My mother was a very agreeable person up until the day she died, when she even gave the ambulance driver a smile,” said her daughter Susan Conroy. A crochet enthusiast, Mrs. Langenstrass was known for her intricate beaded bells, which she frequently gave away to family and friends. Other survivors include a son, Werner; a daughter, Marlene Tyda; a brother, Elmer Pike; a sister, Ruth Landon; 11 grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren. Services will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday in Grove Memorial Chapel, 1199 S. Arlington Heights Rd., Elk Grove Village.
