Home News Local News Family, friends, remember Howard Meinke, who fought to preserve North Fork’s natural...

Family, friends, remember Howard Meinke, who fought to preserve North Fork’s natural beauty for future generations

SoutholdLOCAL photo courtesy Meinke family.

When Nancy Morrell remembers her father, Howard Meinke, who died in a tragic accident in Greenport Thursday night, she pictures salboats and sunny skies, sandy beaches, winter skiing and the natural wonder of the outdoors.

Her father, Morrell said, spent years of his life dedicated to preserving the North Fork environment, as both the past president of the North Fork Environmental Council and working tirelessly with many organizations to protect the area’s waterways and open spaces.

“Those passions,” Morrell said, “stemmed from his love of the outdoors — the water and the beach and all of the wonderful activities that he participated in throughout his life and activities that we participated in, as a family.”

Reflecting on her father, Morrell remembeers fishing, boating, water-skiing and summer sailing at Nassau Point, where Meinke and his father before him had planted deep roots and nurtured family memories. “I suspect his passion for all things environmental and all things related to water quality stemmed from all those things that he loved so much,” she said.

“We used to leave our house in Connecticut on the last day of school, and we would, as a family of five, sail my parents’ little sailboat, that barely seated five, to Nassau Point in June, and we’d spend the rest of the summer here. That’s my best memory, all those summers out here. My sister and brother and I took, and taught, sailing lessons. We were out on the water from breakfast to supper. I wish we could do that today.”

Morrell said she and her sister Janice and brother Jeff, along with her father and mother, Margaret, even spent nights on the sailboat.

“He was a do-er,” she said of her dad. “He was always so eager to do things. He brought that energy and excitement into the family and we did great things together.”

Now that Meinke’s children are grown, and his family has blossomed to include great-grandchildren, Morrell said the traditions live on, with her parents living in Laurel. Meinke and her mother, she said, were married 62 years and shared an extraordinary bond.

“In their retirement years, they did so much together,” Morrell said, her voice catching. “Every afternoon on the boat, every Wednesday evening on the boat, to watch the races at New Suffolk. Just wonderful times like that.”

Their loving example is reflected in her own marriage of 32 years, Morrell said; her brother and his wife have been married for 39 years. “They taught us about long-lasting, committed relationships. How wonderful, and how blessed we are.”

Her father’s greatest legacy, she said, “was the energy and passion that he had for the things he loved to do and the things he cared about.”

Suffolk County Legislator Al Krupski saw Meinke at the Eastern Long Island Hospital fundraiser at the Soundview just minutes before he was struck down and killed.

“He really cared about the community. It’s nice to see people care enough to go out of their way to try and make a difference. He will be really missed,” Krupski said.

Bill Toedter, current president of the NFEC, said Meinke was a man “of great passion”.

Toedter said Meinke, who was originally a builder, had a boundless love for the natural beauty of the North Fork.

Even when he was in his 80s and faced health challenges, Toedter said Meinke “would be the first person to call me and ask, ‘Can you give me a lift to the Suffolk County Legislature to talk about water?’ He was a voice, and he spoke and acted from the heart.”

Meinke, Toedter said, was fiercely committed to finding solutions to the septic issues faced by North Forkers. “One thing he was pushing for in the last couple of years was that he wanted Southold Town and Suffolk County to act on the septic issue, so he could once again see his beloved Peconic have fewer brown tides, and so that he could see more fish return, the way he remembered, years and years ago.”

Despite his years, Meinke “never stopped learning himself,” Toedter said. “He had a thirst for information but he would also take time to share his expertise with others.”

From the time he met Meinke, Toedter remembers his recollections of the North Fork some 40 or 50 years ago, “when you could put your feet in the water and the fish would come nibbling. That resonates with me — his personal message resonated with so many people.”

Having lost Meinke and fellow environmentalist Paul Stoutenburgh in July, Toedter said, “I don’t know who steps into those shoes, brings us those voices.”

Just last week, Meinke and Toedter  headed to the Suffolk County Legislature to speak out on the vote for the vote for the Drinking Water Fund settlement. “His decision was to spend all his free time to speak out,”  Toedter said. Even when Meinke and his wife spent winters in Florida, he called and e-mailed frequently to keep updated on the septic issues, Toedter said.

Meinke also created the North Fork Clean Water Action coalition, Toedter said, which he believes planted the seed for the Long Island Clean Water partnership.

“We can say all these things about what a great environmentalist, he was, and a great advocate — but he was also a great friend. He was a person who welcomed you with open arms. He was very unselfish with his time and great around people of all ages. People were just captured by his voice, his confidence, and what he was trying to get across,” Toedter said.

Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell said he’d just met with Meinke on Thursday, hours before he died. “I am  stunned by the news. The community lost a real champion for the environment and a wise elder statesman for us all,” he said.

Dick Amper, executive director of the Long Island Pine Barrens, said Meinke was deeply committed to the place that he loved. “Howard Meinke was a model citizen for his community. He was an ardent environmentalist. He was articulate and effective. The North Fork would not be the wonderful place it is without him. He was that important, as an individual.”

Bob DeLuca, president and CEO of the Group for the East End, has known and worked with Meinke for close to 30 years. “He was extremely effective because he was  clear, concise, consistent and he was passionate about the issues he believed in, but practical about the way he approached them. I really loved the guy.”

Just last week, DeLuca saw his longtime comrade attend the Suffolk County Legislature hearing on the drinking water protection program, fighting to preserve the North Fork lifestyle that had formed the fabric of his children’s collective memories, so that generations to come could experience clean water and pristine beaches. “He never, ever gave up. They don’t make people like that anymore.”

Arrangements have been entrusted to the Coster-Heppner Funeral Home. A celebration of his life has been set for Saturday, Sept. 27 at 1 p.m. at the Mattituck Yacht Club. See obituary.

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