Former Oregon House Speaker Phil Lang passes away at 95

Published 11:46 am Monday, December 30, 2024

Philip David Lang, a former Oregon House Speaker who served during a transformational time at the state Legislature, passed away of natural causes at the age of 95 on Dec. 29, 2024.

Lang was first elected to the state House of Representatives as a Democrat from the Portland area in 1960 and served there for 18 years. He was a key leader of the 1973 Legislative Improvements Committee that initiated internal reforms to better manage legislation and develop the leadership potential of committee chairs. Lang served as Speaker for two terms from 1975 to 1978, when he and Oregon Senate President Jason Boe developed plans and convinced the Legislature to fund construction of the so-called Capitol Wings that provided the first individual offices for legislators and their staff members.

Construction of the Wings began when the 1975 Legislature adjourned, and they were completed in time of the opening of the next session in January 1977. In 1997, Lang was honored by the naming of the House Office wing as the “Phil Lang Memorial Wing”.

Lang was also appointed as chair of the Oregon Liquor Control Commission by Gov. John Kitzhaber and reappointed by Gov. Ted Kulongoski, serving in that role from 1998 to 2011. He is credited with overseeing the modernization of OLCC’s distilled spirits distribution and marketing systems, and strengthening state laws to prevent underage drinking. In 2006, Lang was elected chairman of the board of the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association, a group of 20 state and county liquor agencies that directly control the distribution and sale of alcoholic beverages within their borders.

Lang was born in Portland, Oregon, on Dec. 16, 1929. The fifth of five children of Vera Margaret (Kern) Lang and Henry Winfield Lang, he was raised in southeast Portland. He attended Woodstock Grade School and graduated from Franklin High School in 1947. With many jobs going to returning WWII veterans, he secured the reluctant permission of his parents to enlist in the U.S. Army at age 17, where he served in the Army Air Corps for three years, including 25 months in Japan with an air intelligence unit.

After leaving the Army, Lang attended Lewis & Clark College on the GI bill, served as an Oregon State Police Trooper, attended the Northwestern College of Law, trained as a claims adjuster, ran unsuccessfully for Multnomah County Sheriff, and was an assistant to Mayor Terry Schrunk, all before he turned 30 years of age. He married Marcia J. Smith in 1952 and welcomed the birth of their son, Philip David, in 1961.

Lang was employed for 35 years with the North Pacific/Oregon Automobile insurance Companies, retiring in 1994 as Vice President with responsibility for all personal lines business in several states. He also served on many professional and non-profit boards, and was a current member of the Oregon State Capitol Foundation Board. He was active in DeMolay and a 50-year member of the Masonic Lodge.

Lang is survived by his wife of close to 45 years, Ginny; his son, Phil; and his nephew, Don Clark. On Dec. 1, 2023, the Capitol Foundation presented Phil and Ginny Lang with the Bell Award for their leadership and service to the Capitol and the Foundation.

A memorial mass will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 8 at St. Anthony Catholic Church at 9905 S.W. McKenzie Street in Tigard. Private interment will be held at Willamette National Cemetery.

Donations may be made to Oregon State Capitol Foundation Endowment Fund, P.O. Box 13472, Salem OR, 97309; Oregon State Police Foundation, P.O. Box 2074, Salem OR, 97308; or the charity of one’s choice.