Realtor earned numerous awards during her career and served on the boards of many local institutions Nancy Ellen Lang, 85, of Essex, Vt., passed away peacefully on Monday, September 23, 2024, one month shy of her 86th birthday, at the University of Vermont Medical Center. Nancy passed as summer turned into fall, and, just like that, a little sunshine left our lives. She was born in Richlandtown, Pa., to John Repa Jr. and Myrtle May Hagan. When she was 14, her father uprooted the family from Bucks County to the wilds of Underhill, Vt., to be near his favorite hunting grounds. They settled in an old farmhouse on what is now Repa Road. Nancy and her sister, Phyllis, commuted by car to high school in Essex Junction, where the new girl quickly caught the eye of an upperclassman. John Lang took Nancy on a first date on her 15th birthday, the beginning of a 70-year love affair. Nancy was a force of nature from a young age. She skipped a grade and graduated at the age of 16 from Essex Junction High School at the top of her class. She was accepted at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, but they did not provide housing for female students at the time. She instead studied civil engineering for two years at the University of Vermont, until she left school to marry John on September 21, 1957. After their wedding, they lived on Long Island, N.Y., where John was stationed in the U.S. Air Force. They returned to take over the family farm in Essex, Vt., and welcomed their son, Jonathan, in 1959. A daughter, Jennifer, joined the family in 1964. In between having her children, Nancy began her career in real estate at Hickok and Boardman. Sales were a perfect fit for Nancy, as she possessed a natural charisma, always greeting everyone by name and with a smile. A true trailblazer, Nancy opened her own real estate office at 30, during a time when women weren’t even allowed to open credit cards in their own name. Lang Associates became a leader in real estate sales and the largest real estate brokerage firm in Vermont. She had the ability to cultivate people’s strengths and reward them for their efforts. There was a reason she titled the business Lang Associates, as the “Lang Gang” was a team. She took on leadership roles in the industry on both state and national levels. She was president of the Northwestern Vermont Board…