2019 Justin David Langford

Name:                                     Justin David Langford

Type of Donation:             Organ, tissue and cornea donor

Age and Location:             Age 23 – Zionsville, IN

Donation Date:                   5/17/2014

Sponsor:                                Honored by Indiana Donor Network in partnership with Donate Life Indiana

JUSTIN’S STORY

Whether through music, kind words or wise counsel beyond his years, Justin David Langford had a special way of making people feel understood and valued. He found joy, his family recalls, engaging with those around him, and with a remarkable ease befriended people of all ages and walks of life. His generous spirit was evident in countless ways throughout his 23 years, including his decision to register as an organ donor. When Justin died as the result of an on-the-job traffic accident in May 2014, his gift of organ donation saved the lives of five people, including a two-year-old boy.  Justin also enhanced more than 22 lives through his gift of tissue and cornea donation.

Born January 24, 1991, in Franklin, Indiana, Justin called several states home, but lived the majority of his life in Indiana, graduating from Zionsville Community High School in 2009. With an insatiable curiosity and love of learning, he enjoyed reading everything from academic texts to cookbooks, and when he was not at school, refereeing youth soccer, serving at his church or singing in the high school show choir, he was playing the piano or guitar.

Excelling in math and science and nurturing a life-long interest in “how things worked,” Justin studied mechanical engineering at Vanderbilt University, earning a bachelor’s degree in May 2013. During college, he was a member of the Vanderbilt Variations a cappella group, the V-Squared mentoring program and the school’s aerospace club and team, which won multiple awards for its bio-hybrid fueled rocket at a NASA contest.

After interning at Allison Transmission in Indianapolis for three summers during college, Justin accepted a position with the company as a calibrations engineer. Involved in controls logic, Justin worked in hybrid systems management on a team that was recently awarded a U.S. patent for its discovery.

While it could be so easy to focus on the tragedy of Justin’s untimely death, his family chooses to give hope—not only as advocates for organ donation, but through Justin’s Run4Hope, an annual run/walk celebration that supports two scholarship funds established in Justin’s memory for students interested in careers in science, technology, engineering or mathematics.