Emily Anne Delangue

Our darling Emily Anne Delangue (née Langham), born October 1, 1989, passed peacefully in her sleep on August 6, 2026, at age 36. She was a beautiful, kind soul who will be missed each day by her parents, Dana and Jim; her brothers, Wes and his fiancé, Emma Peters, and Jeremy and his wife, Madi Fogarty; and the many family members and friends who loved her dearly.

Emily grew up in Westport, Connecticut, attending the Learning Community preschool, Coleytown Elementary and Coleytown Middle School. She graduated from Staples High School in 2007. She especially loved being with her many friends throughout the years—from cross country in the fall to indoor track in the winter, and track and field in the spring. In the summers, she lifeguarded at Compo Beach, alongside many of those same friends, making wonderful memories together.

She attended Washington University in St. Louis, first studying at the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts before moving to the Olin Business School where she earned a BS in Business Administration in 2011. She was a member of Pi Beta Phi sorority and fittingly served as rush chair her senior year, a role that reflected her natural warmth and love of bringing people together.

After graduation, Emily began a 10-year career in advertising, first at Discovery Communications and then at several well-known advertising agencies. She spent her twenties in New York, sharing apartments with close friends, embracing new adventures and immersing herself in the endless energy of Manhattan and Brooklyn.

She married Clément Delangue on September 1, 2018, in Dourdan, France. The wedding was a storybook celebration, which she designed with an artist’s eye. Emily and Clem divorced amicably in 2023.

Emily moved to San Diego in late 2023 and quickly fell in love with the city—the warmth of its weather, the energy of its neighborhoods, and the ease of life by the ocean. She soon began a new chapter, enrolling in a master’s program in clinical psychology at Pepperdine University, with plans to graduate this December. As she recounted to family and fellow students, her psychology degree was giving her own life a greater sense of purpose.

As part of her graduate studies, she became a therapy trainee at Steppingstone of San Diego, a highly regarded nonprofit dedicated to healing, recovery and well-being. Those who knew her work saw the outsized impact she made. At work, as in every part of her life, Emily embraced what made each person unique, meeting others with respect, openness, and genuine interest, never judging them by convention or expectation.

Emily was deeply involved in the 12-step program, where she found a meaningful and important community. She had nearly two years of sobriety when she passed away, an accomplishment of which she was justly proud.

Emily found joy in the unexpected. She loved wandering through street fairs and flea markets, exploring abandoned places, taking ghost tours in St. Augustine and discovering the stories and character hidden in seemingly ordinary places and things. These diverse interests captured something quintessentially Emily—imaginative and filled with wonder. As a young girl playing soccer, while the other children crowded around the ball, Emily stood at the far end of the field, her bright blue eyes turned skyward, watching butterflies dance in the air. For Emily, the butterflies were simply too captivating to ignore.

She was a remarkably talented and accomplished person with a rare ability to immerse herself in whatever captured her fancy. She played classical piano, painted vivid still-life's and self portraits, created extraordinary works of food art, read tarot cards, and crafted whimsical floral displays. She also had a distinctive flair for fashion. She was known to look her mother up and down when Mom thought she was ready to go out, shake her head, and then reconfigure the outfit. Always, of course, to good effect.

Emily pursued her too short life fully, embracing countless adventures. Those who knew and loved her often called her a wildflower—free-spirited, unconventional and beautifully her own. Now, she is among a field of them.

In addition to her immediate family, Emily will be missed by her grandmother Emilia, maternal uncles Donald, Daniel (Chris Vatis), Douglas and David (Katie); paternal aunt Luann Jacobs (Matthew), and uncles Max (Sue) and Sam (Lauren). She will also be missed by many cousins and by friends near and far who loved her deeply, as well as her beloved cat, Eddie.

A celebration of Emily’s life will be held at 11:00 a.m. CDT on Saturday, September 5 at Nordike Funeral Home in Carlyle Illinois. This service will be livestreamed. Whether joining in person or online, we invite women to wear florals and men to wear a colorful tie in honor of Emily’s vibrant personality.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to Steppingstone of San Diego, or simply give someone you love a big hug and call them a fool or foolie, just as Emily often did. In recent years, Emily shared that her higher power was ‘Mother Luna’. We hope that whenever you gaze at the moon; you’ll be reminded of the light Emily brought to the lives of everyone who knew and loved her.