Articles by Josh Lange

Published July 24, 2025

The word Mishawaka is a Pottawatomi word that means “swift flowing water,” referring to the natural rapids of the St. Joseph River. The river is what brought settlements to our city and is the heart of our robust community. Life is like floating on a raft with no paddle down a river. You are always moving, not able to go back. Some points are rocky and unstable, while others are calm and tranquil. While you can change small aspects, ultimately, the current will flow the raft and everything else downstream as it always has since the beginning. Death will come for us all eventually, and my grandma Linda (Biggs) Lange was tragically taken on May 24, 2025, after fighting a long, heroic battle with breast cancer. It is fitting that she passed away at the Mishawaka Center for Hospice, where one of the last things she saw from the window was the St. Joseph River, which flowed less than 40 feet from her.

My grandma took her last breaths in her ancestral hometown. Within walking distance is Central Park, formerly the site of the Rubber Regenerating Company, where my grandma’s Great Grandpa John Bushong worked. Not too far is Beutter Park, formerly Ball-Band, where her grandpa Lloyd Biggs, her father Jack Biggs, and seemingly every other relative worked. My grandma was also on the north side of the river when she passed, which is important as her whole family were north side Mishawakans since moving to the community in the late 1800s. Her family moved a lot when she was a child, which led to her leaving Mishawaka multiple times, but she was always a Mishawakan at heart, even when she was not here. Like a homing pigeon, she always found her way back to the city.

Losing my grandmother has been difficult. Since I was young, she had been my biggest supporter. I was her favorite grandson, and I was her only grandson. I owe my love of writing and Mishawaka history to her. When I was a child, I struggled to read and write, and my grandma helped me form my writing style. She is the main reason I write history columns in the Mishawaka Enterprise and volunteer at the Mishawaka Historical Museum. Giving back to people gave her joy and she instilled the value of selflessness in all of her children and grandchildren. Whether it was her volunteering for church events, the PTA, organizing her class reunions for Adams High School, or organizing family reunions, she always strove to bring people together. I do not believe I will ever be as pure of heart as her, but I will try my hardest every single day.

While I mourn for my grandma, I have solace knowing that she is no longer in pain from the debilitating disease known as triple negative breast cancer, along with her multiple other comorbidities. She is in the warm embrace of the Lord, together with her sister, parents, and all her other loved ones who have perished along the way. Seeing all of the people at her celebration of life earlier this month showed that even in death, she brought people of all walks of life together one last time. My family and I will carry on her legacy, and make sure that she always stays in our memories, and in our hearts.

My grandma and I, when I was a baby