Live Forever Project to chronicle story of Pat Lang, a Sheboygan woman who lived to 100, contributed during WWII and raised a family.

SHEBOYGAN – Amid enjoying picnics at Evergreen, playing golf and skiing, Jane Lang has fond memories of long Sunday drives with her mom.

Her mom, Patricia "Pat" Lang, and her aunt would pack up the car with Jane, her sister Jolene and cousins and hit the road for a day trip.

“We'd always get lost,” Jane said. “I would love pulling out a map and just figuring out where we were and how to get back. It was a total adventure. No one ever worried.”

Jane shared memories of her mom with the Live Forever Project , a local organization aimed at keeping memories alive through the arts. Pat is the central focus of the upcoming show, “Land On A Smile,” which will chronicle important moments of her life through vignettes of song, poetry and other art forms.

It was exciting to have her mom be honored and remembered in this way, she said. It’s special for another reason, too. Pat passed away Aug. 5. She was 100 years old.

The past few weeks have been “surreal” for Jane.

“Time has ceased to have meaning in a way,” she said. “You know, a day feels like a week at times, or I don't know what day of the week it is. I’m doing things that I had not expected to do, but I take each moment as it comes, and I have wonderful memories and just an outstanding support network with friends and family.”

Jane said her mom was known for being kind, compassionate and positive. She'd take day trips to cheer people up and take care of her parents and in-laws among others before they passed away.

“She had a wonderful spirit about her and touched a lot of lives all the way from being a small child to being 100 years old,” Jane said.

Pat’s positivity and desire to spread goodness stood out to Colleen Machut, founder of Live Forever Project, emblematic of the show’s title that Pat picked. Machut said Pat’s passing emphasizes the importance of LFP’s work.

“This person is not with us anymore, but through the work that we've done, through the project and the process, and now through the performance and what the audience members will take away, her memory will live on forever and will be part of people in a different way,” she said.

Though Pat wouldn’t have been able to physically be part of the show, because she was legally blind and had trouble walking, she informed some of the creative elements. Jane showed her recorded scenes the troupe had practiced, and she’d listen.

“A smile would just creep across her face as she listened to the songs and listened to the dialogue back and forth with her brother or my dad, you know, and other characters in the play,” Jane said.

“Land On a Smile” will highlight Pat's childhood, experience during the home front effort during World War II and the love story between her husband Joseph, who emigrated from Germany by himself when he was 12 years old. It will explore how their cultures joined and the hardships and joys of her family. It will end with a reflection of what those experiences meant to her.

Pat graduated from Central High School in 1942, and she later contributed to the war effort making canteens at Vollrath, according to her obituary . She worked at the telephone company Wisconsin Bell for 30 years, serving as a switchboard operator and then a repair service clerk.

After retiring, she spent time golfing and volunteering at St. Nicholas Hospital, St. Dominic Church and The Salvation Army. She was also a big Packers fan, specifically of former player Jordy Nelson.

Live Forever Project inspired by grandparents

Founded in 2013, the Live Forever Project was inspired by Machut’s love for the arts and her grandparents, Eugene and Alice . Eugene served in New Guinea and Alice contributed to efforts on the home front during WWII.

They were in a car crash when she was in her early 20s, and she didn’t know at first if they had survived. In that moment, she wasn’t sure if she remembered the stories they told her enough to share them and keep their memories alive.

“Those things can be gone in a second,” Machut said.

To capture what those experiences felt like for them, and at a time she was looking for a bigger purpose for theater, Machut helped lead the production of “The Lucky Ones” in 2014.

LFP has held other shows over the years to honor elders, like WWII veterans and a local nurse.

"We should really honor their lives because they've done so much and teach us so much,” Machut said.

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'Land On a Smile' show held Aug. 24 and 25

Live Forever Project will showcase “Land On a Smile” at Berkshire Living Community, 101 School St., in Sheboygan Falls. Two shows will be performed at 2:30 p.m. Aug. 24 and 25.

The show is a collaboration among LFP, Kayla Schetter’s Dance Studio, Machut Music Studio, vocal harmony group VOX, local singer and songwriter Jon Doll and about 30 community members.

Attendees should enter through Door 6 off Detroit Street. The entrance is wheelchair accessible. Admission is free. Donations are accepted.

Contact Live Forever Project at LFPtroupe@gmail.com . LFP extends its gratitude to the Berkshire Live Community.

Have a story tip? Contact Alex Garner at 224-374-2332 or agarner@gannett.com . Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) at @alexx_garner .

This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: Live Forever Project to chronicle story of Pat Lang, a Sheboygan woman who lived to 100, contributed during WWII and raised a family.