Virginia Meier, 87, of Kingston
KINGSTON >> Virginia Meier passed away quietly at home on Oct. 1, 2016, after a long illness. “All our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle.” — Macbeth
Born Feb. 8, 1929, to Joseph and Margaret Meier, Virginia was a New Yorker who attended Flushing High School and Queens College before getting her Bachelors degree in English Literature at Yale. She continued with an all-but-dissertation Ph.D. at Columbia University but left with her husband to live and work in Cambridge, Paris, Geneva and Crete in the 1950’s.
After returning to N.Y.C. when her father died, she had a daughter, Ariel, in 1963. Divorced shortly thereafter, she earned her Masters of Education at Columbia Teachers College, and moved with her mother and daughter to Woodstock, N.Y. She taught writing and literature at Ulster County Community College for the next 30 years, where she was much beloved by thousands of students who cherished her lively teaching and her dedication to their learning and success. She took buses of students to museums and theaters in N.Y.C. and Boston, and was known for her personal delight in attending the Metropolitan Opera — sometimes driving to and from N.Y.C. the night before a morning class to see a performance.
After retiring, Virginia traveled the world by ship in honor of her beloved seafaring brothers. She continued to enjoy opera, Shakespeare, classic films, literature and dogs. Her voracious curiosity about “what’s going to happen next”, as well as her love of teaching, travel, animals, and different cultures, was passed on to her daughter.
She is predeceased by her brothers Christian, William, Joseph, and Edward. She leaves her daughter, Ariel Lublin of Napanoch, her son-in-law Francis Mead, her nephew Joey Meier of Florida, and her adored helpers.
Memorial donations may be given to the Ulster County SPCA.
Remembrances may be posted on her Facebook site or www.KeyserCarr. com
Her remains will be buried at sea at her request.
“Men must endure their going hence, even as their coming hither.” — King Lear