Joseph William Lange
Agency patch
Parole Officer IV

Joseph William Lange

Illness
End of Watch July 1, 2020
Age 56
Tour of Duty 25 yrs
The Vigil Panel 172 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Parole Officer IV Joseph Lange died after contracting COVID-19 while performing offender supervision duties.

Officer Lange had served with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Parole Division for 25 years and was assigned to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles.

COVID-19 and Law Enforcement

Parole Officer IV Joseph William Lange died on July 1, 2020 of COVID-19 contracted in the line of duty. He was 56.

He is one of 884 officers honored here, and one of 5 at Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Parole Division.

Beginning in early 2020, law enforcement officers across the country contracted COVID-19 in the course of their duties. While much of the nation sheltered at home, they kept answering calls, making arrests, transporting prisoners, and working face to face with the public. There was no distance to be had from the job.

Corrections officers were hit hardest. Confined facilities and large populations meant constant, close, unavoidable exposure.

Survivors

He is survived by his son, mother, father, and two half-sisters.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-TX-2885C1C8
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
April 2, 2026
Last updated
July 23, 2026

Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.

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Tributes

The country locked its doors. You kept working.
Parole Officer IV Lange gave the Texas Department of Criminal Justice 25 years.
Thank you for your service to the Austin community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Parole Officer IV Lange.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Location Austin, TX
Platform Identity tdcjpdfed.fed.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch July 1, 2020
Tour of Duty 25 yrs
Age 56
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Illness
Cause Detail COVID19

Parole Officer IV Joseph William Lange is one of 2,974 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 9.1% of all 32,508 officers honored here.

In TX, 204 of 2,421 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 8.4% of this state's fallen. That is 0.7 percentage points below the national rate of 9.1%.

At Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Parole Division, 5 of 5 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 100% of this agency's fallen.

Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Parole Division
5
of 5 officers
100% Illness
TX — Statewide
204
of 2,421 officers
8.4% Illness
Nationwide
2,974
of 32,508 officers
9.1% Illness

National Cause Distribution

How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Joseph William Lange's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
17,623 (54.2%)
Accident
10,088 (31%)
Illness
2,974 (9.1%)
Cardiac
1,306 (4%)
Undetermined
260 (0.8%)
Suicide
256 (0.8%)
vehicular
1 (0%)

How Joseph William Lange Compares

Age at End of Watch
56
This officer
Avg for Illness: 47.8 years
Years of Service
25
This officer
Avg for Illness: 18.9 years

When Illness Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Joseph William Lange is highlighted in Jul.

Jan
294
Feb
198
Mar
185
Apr
226
May
201
Jun
181
Jul
217
Aug
281
Sep
291
Oct
376
Nov
239
Dec
285

Incident Location