Dana Jean (Meredith) Lang

Dana Lang passed away on July 31, 2026 at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Bridgeport, Connecticut at the age of 75 years.

Dana Jean Meredith was born on November 11, 1950 in Denver, Colorado, to parents Milton and Irene Meredith. She was the first of five daughters to be born into the family. Shortly after her father graduated from chiropractic college, her parents began to seek a good location for her father to set up his first practice. They initially moved to Hot Springs, SD, then Traverse City, MI, Gaylord, MI, and Philip, SD, before putting roots down in their forever home of Kearney, NE. The family maintained a residence in Kearney for 67 years, until the passing of Dana’s mom in 2021.

Dana attended Whittier Elementary School, and graduated from Kearney High School in 1969. She then attended Kearney State College for 3 semesters, before she chose to follow her desire to experience city life. By then, she had met John Lang, a native of New York City, and she eventually moved to the Big Apple. 

John and Dana were united in marriage in New York on May 21, 1972, and Dana enjoyed a career as a legal secretary for several years before they began their family. They were blessed with two sons, Michael and Matthew, who were the light of Dana’s life!

Michael was born in New York before the family moved to upstate New York for several years, living first in Syracuse and then in Buffalo. The family then moved to Connecticut, where their second son, Matthew, was born. After living in Norwalk, Connecticut for a few years they bought a home in Westport, Connecticut, where the family lived for 37 years. At the time of Dana's passing, the couple had recently moved to an apartment in the River Valley Retirement Residence in Trumbull, Connecticut.

Dana greatly enjoyed being a homemaker once her sons were born, and in subsequent years, she expanded upon her love of reading and writing, even penning two memoirs of her life growing up in a big, busy family in central Nebraska. She always looked forward to special occasions when her extended family would gather for a reunion.

Left to cherish her memory are beloved family members: husband John; son Michael and wife Lesley; son Matthew and wife Lily; four beautiful grandchildren Ella, Olivia, Jackson, and Ava; sisters Nancy Beitel of Mullen, NE; Marcy Stevens (Bill) of Kearney, NE; Susan Kaniut (Chris) of Jacksonville, FL; Elizabeth Engel (Brent) of Hillsborough, NC, and eleven nieces and nephews.

Dana was preceded in death by her parents, Milton and Irene Meredith, and brother-in-law Bob Beitel.

Funeral services will be held on Monday, August 10, 2026 at 11 AM at Erickson-Hansen Funeral Home of Berlin, 111 Chamberlain Hwy., Berlin. Burial will be in the State Veteran’s Cemetery, Middletown. Visitation will be held from 10:30 AM until the time of the service. To celebrate Dana’s life, flowers may be sent to the funeral home, or donations may be made in her name to Shriners Children's Hospital.