At 100 years old, this Apple Valley woman has never missed a voting opportunity

Rene Ray De La Cruz, Victorville Daily Press
·2 min read

At 100 years old, June Edith Langer has never missed an opportunity to vote.

During Super Tuesday, the former Rosie the Riveter and retired Apple Valley teacher voted at Sun City’s Mariposa Lodge in Apple Valley.

It's become a patriotic tradition that began on Nov. 7, 1944, when June was 21.

She has participated in 20 presidential elections, with her first election being the battle between incumbent President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey.

At 100 years old, June Edith Langer is a former Rosie the Riveter and retired teacher from Apple Valley, who has never missed an opportunity to vote.
At 100 years old, June Edith Langer is a former Rosie the Riveter and retired teacher from Apple Valley, who has never missed an opportunity to vote.

The 1944 election took place while the U.S. was preoccupied with World War II. President Roosevelt had been in office longer than any other president, but remained popular, according to history.

Roosevelt ran for another term as the Democratic candidate. His Republican opponent was Dewey, who ran an energetic campaign but lost to FDR, who would win a record fourth term.

Langer recalls 1948, when Harry Truman defeated Dewey, and when she worked the polls in 1952 and 1956 on the southside of Chicago, her hometown.

In both years, she saw Dwight D. Eisenhower win landslide victories over Adlai Stevenson.

At 100 years old, June Edith Langer is a former Rosie the Riveter and retired teacher from Apple Valley, who has never missed an opportunity to vote.
At 100 years old, June Edith Langer is a former Rosie the Riveter and retired teacher from Apple Valley, who has never missed an opportunity to vote.

In 1952 she watched the returns from her family’s black and white television. Before that time, she had to wait to hear the results the next day on the radio.

​By 1960, June and her family had moved to Glendale, California where her parents had retired. That was the year John F. Kennedy won over Richard Nixon.

June and her late husband, Herb Langer, and their two children, Mary and Dave, also left Chicago and traveled to the West Coast via Route 66.

Her daughter, Mary Langer Thompson, asked June if she had a favorite president.

“No. I respected all my presidents because I always thought they were smart men, even the ones I didn’t vote for," June said.

​She looks forward to voting again in November.

At 100 years old, June Edith Langer from Apple Valley has never missed an opportunity to vote. Her first election in Nov. 1944 was a battle between incumbent and eventual winner President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey.
At 100 years old, June Edith Langer from Apple Valley has never missed an opportunity to vote. Her first election in Nov. 1944 was a battle between incumbent and eventual winner President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey.

Her active lifestyle includes reading, painting, writing, practicing the piano, playing Canasta, making cards, and doing church activities at Jess Ranch Community Church, where she celebrated her 100th birthday in June 2023. 

June is a member of California Retired Teachers’ Tumbleweed Division, Delta Kappa Gamma’s Iota Xi chapter, and recently became a life member of the Mohahve Historical Society.

She also holds membership in the High Desert California Writers Club and is working on her memoir, “Bits and Pieces.”

Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227 or RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: At 100, this Apple Valley woman has never missed a voting opportunity