Beloved twin barber of Fillmore County, Ray Lange, has died at the age of 82 after a brief illness, leaving behind a long record of service to his community and many friends who remember him for his steady presence and warm conversation. He passed away at his home in Spring Valley on January 3, 2026.
For decades, Ray was known locally as one half of the county’s “twin barbers,” a pair of familiar faces who cut hair, traded stories, and marked the comings and goings of small-town life.
People who visited his shop remember more than haircuts. They remember jokes, the kind of practical advice that comes from years of listening, and a barber chair that felt like a place to pause. Those simple rituals made him a trusted figure and a part of many families’ routines.
Obituary notices and local coverage describe a man who loved his work and his community. Funeral arrangements were handled by Hindt Funeral Homes, and services were held at First English Lutheran Church with burial at Spring Valley Cemetery.
Friends and neighbors gathered to pay respects and to tell stories about a life spent close to the people he served.
Marie Copeman wrote, “Ray always had a story to tell. Had many pixie haircuts done when younger. A barber who cut young girls hair. Will always remember getting that stick of gum.”
Terri Behr added, “I always enjoyed getting to visit Ray when I was in Spring Valley or he came into glass shop where I used to work. He was a character and will be deeply mussed. Deepest sympathies to the Lange families.”
Local media covered his death and the reaction in the town. A short KARE 11 item noted his role in the county’s social life and carried tributes from community members who said he had a way of making everyone feel welcome.
Those tributes echo what appears again and again in the written obituary the family provided, which emphasizes his generosity and the steady relationships he kept over the years.
Ray’s life was quieter than headlines usually capture, but the shape of it is familiar to anyone who grew up in small towns.
He worked with his hands, he knew his neighbors, and he kept the small rituals of daily life alive. That familiarity is precisely why his passing has been felt so widely.
People who might not have had much in common otherwise still shared a chair in his shop, and that created a network of relationships that is hard to replace.
Survivors named in local notices include family and close friends who have asked for privacy as they make funeral plans and remember him.
The family’s messages and the stories told at his visitation and service painted a picture of a private man who, nevertheless, made public contributions simply by being present and attentive to those around him.
The notice of a brief illness is a reminder of how quickly life can change in a tight community where people expect to see one another at the market, the church, or the barber shop.
In the days following his death, many people left flowers and notes, and social posts reflected the same tone of gratitude and gentle shock.
Those quiet public responses read as a kind of communal thank you for the ordinary, essential care Ray offered.
This is a local story about local life, and its significance is rooted in the small gestures that build neighborhoods.
Ray Lange was not a celebrity, and he did not seek the spotlight. What he did was simpler and in many ways rarer. He showed up, he listened, and he cultivated connections over a lifetime of service.
He was a legendary Fillmore County barber who meant a great deal to the people who knew him.
He died on January 3, 2026, after a brief illness, and funeral arrangements were made through Hindt Funeral Homes with services at First English Lutheran Church in Spring Valley.
Those facts are the center of the story, and the rest is the steady, human response of a community that remembers him with affection.
Leave a Comment