The Peru Gazette

Jim will walk out his office door into retirement on December 31.

By John T Ryan

November 5, 2024, Peru, NY – One of Peru’s most visible and long-standing businesses will change hands at the end of this year. Langley Insurance Agency owner James Langley Jr. is retiring on December 31, 2024, and Troy Shepherd will become the agency’s new owner. Shepherd, the owner of the MLM Insurance Agency in Westport, brings ten years of industry experience and advanced technology skills to the business. With 30 years of industry experience, Grace Bechard will conduct day-to-day operations in Peru. The Agency’s name will not change.

At age 65, Jim Langley says it’s time to retire. “I plan to spend more time with my family and travel. My wife Tammy will be joining me. She’s retiring next July.”

A few days ago, the Langleys purchased a home in Cohoes, NY, near Latham, where their daughter Tiffany and her husband Chad and grandchildren Payton and Jackson live. Jim and Tammy also plan to spend several months at their Chazy Lake camp each year. They’ll be close by son Tyler, his wife Elora, and their kids Silas and Elowyn, who live in Peru.

Jim Langley is well-known in at least two circles—insurance and community service. After graduating from Canton ATC in 1980, he worked for ten years in his father’s insurance agency, J. Langley Associates. In 1990, Langley bought the Ross E. Clark Agency on Mannix Road, and in 2006, he opened his new building along Bear Swamp Road at 5 Davey Drive, opposite the Peru Post Office.

Langley loves his chosen profession. He commented, “I’ve never considered this to be work. I enjoy meeting people and learning about their lives. I’ve never had to advertise. I visit people’s homes and businesses. I learned that from Barbara Thew at the Ross E. Clark Agency. We treat people here like extended family.”

Thinking about memories of living in Peru, Jim commented, “Peru is a very accepting community. There’s a village with everything a family needs. Peru Central is great for the kids; our kids loved it. Thanks to my wife Tammy and her family, we are proud to say our children were the fourth-generation graduates of Peru Central, and one day, I expect our grandchildren Silas and Elowyn will be the fifth.”

Langley always found time to serve his community. His service included assisting in coaching basketball, soccer, and baseball and being a member of the Community Bank Advisory Board. He was a member of the Peru and County Planning Boards, the Peru Town Board, and the Clinton County Legislature (1999-2015) until a new law term-limited him out of office. From 2001 to 2013, he was the Legislature’s Chairman, where many people praised his ability to bring people together to accomplish positive change.

Two of those changes serve thousands of people – relocating the county airport from Route 3 to its current location on the former airbase and the Cumberland Head connector road to and from the ferry. Under his leadership, the county acquired millions of dollars in federal and state funding for both projects by working directly with the agencies involved. Locally, Jim worked with the NYS Department of Transportation to redesign a hazardous Route 22B—River Road intersection.

Langley summarized his feelings: “I have served my community in many ways over the years. I’m proud of being a Peruvian and the community that has accepted me for the past 35 years.”