Louis James Vanlandingham, Jr.

A Celebration of Life for

Louis James Vanlandingham Jr.

December 29, 1964-February 19, 2021

Louis James Vandingham Jr. was born on December 29, 1964 to the late Louis Sr. and Inez Vanlandingham in Baltimore, MD. On Friday February 19, 2021 God called his angel home.

Louis or Jr., as he was affectionately called by most of his family and friends, attended Baltimore City Public Schools. He was born and raised in “Cherry Hill.” He was so proud of being from, and for being a part of the Cherry Hill community. His oldest sister Barbara, his partner in crime, preceded him in death. She called Jr. her Stinkawink. She loved her sister and brother so much. When Jr. was little he would sit on the middle armrest in her car to keep her boyfriends at bay. As you can see, he has always been overly protective of those he loved.

Louis gave his life to Christ as a child at New Psalmist Baptist Church under Bishop Walter Thomas Sr. He rededicated his life to Christ in 2006. Joining the Open Bible House of Prayer Baptist Church under Pastor Sewall B. Smith. He enjoyed singing and telling people about the goodness of the Lord. He never waivered in his faith!

In 1989, Louis received his greatest gift, his daughter, Avemaria, was born. He loved, cherished, and adored her. He was so incredibly proud of her. She then gave him his right-hand man, his grandson Tristan. Tristan loved riding in the truck with his PopPop and eating up all of the groceries.

He was wonderfully and bountifully blessed. Louis met and married the love of his life, Iris on June 26, 2010. He and Iris were inseparable. They weathered the storms together. They loved each other and they spoiled each other. He would always tease and tickle her just because he said he always wanted to see her gold toothed smile.

Louis was a loving, caring, and kindhearted man. He had the biggest, brightest, and most affectionate smile. He was a jokester who kept everyone laughing. He was the life of every party, dancing until he sweated out his clothes. Throughout his lifetime, Jr. loved roller skating, dirt bikes, bowling, sports and fishing. He was a diehard Ravens fan. Louis also had a big heart. All he ever did and wanted to do, was help people. There was no job too big or too small. Whether you asked him specifically or not, Louis was coming to the rescue. If he could not fix it, he’d put the call out for who he knew could get the job done in his absence. Louis has fixed everybody’s cars and moved a lot of people’s furniture. Louis loved driving too. One his favorite phrases was “You know I’m a truck driver. I got this.” He loved sportscars and trucks. He could probably give the stats from any year, make and model.

Jr. was the glue that held the family together. He loved his family. He was always visiting and kept in touch with family across the globe. He was respectful and very well respected. He honestly has never met a stranger. He knew and loved everybody. We all sure did love him too.

Louis held numerous jobs over the years. He was currently employed by the Bon Secours Conference and Retreat Center in Marriottsville, MD. He absolutely loved and adored the Sister’s and all of his co-workers. They loved him just as much. They called him Sunshine. He would always talk about how much he enjoyed working there. He would say “this is the best job I’ve ever had. They really care about their people.” So much so, Bon Secours even took him on a trip to Paris. As he was battling his illness, he wanted to rush back to work. Mr. Kevin and Mr. Daniels always made themselves available for him. Whenever anything was amiss, the Bon Secours family were so kind and understanding to our entire family. They are so awesome and supporting. We hope that they know how important they were to him. He made lifelong friendships there.

Louis is survived by his Wife, Iris Vanlandingham, Daughter Avemaria Vanlandingham, Sister Priscilla Burrell (Donnell), Grandson Tristan Baker, Niece Tanae Brown and Nephew Cordell Scott (Aleta). Louis also leaves a host of Nieces, Nephews, Cousin’s, Godchildren, Sister-in-laws Valerie Bryant (Keith), Sheila Stover (Michael), Brother-in-laws Norman Moore, Maurice Moore, Curtis Moore (Gaye), his 2 childhood Best friend’s Carl Short and Gregory Gaither, his godchildren, additional family members and friends to cherish his memory.