Evelyn Mindell, 50-year Merokean, at 95, is mourned

Evelyn Mindell, who lived on Croydon Drive in North Merrick for 50 years, from 1946 to 1996, died peacefully at her home in Cedar Crest Village, Pompton Plains, N.J., on Feb. 22. She was 95.

Her three sons, Bill, Paul, and Jody, along with her four grandchildren and several other family members and friends, were with her. She died as she lived, with grace, humor and clarity, said Paul Mindell.

In addition to her sons, Evelyn is survived by her daughters-in-law, Laura and Carolyn; and her grandchildren and their spouses, David Mindell, Zoe and David Abrams, Jeff and Kelly Mindell, and Jennifer Mindell.

A private graveside service for family and friends was held Feb. 23 at Mt. Ararat Cemetery in Farmingdale, where Mindell was buried beside her husband, Henry, who died in 1992. Honoring her request, her family hosted a celebration luncheon after the burial at Merrick’s R.S. Jones Restaurant, which now occupies the site of Henry’s former pharmacy, Mindell Drugs.

Evelyn grew up in Jackson Heights, a first-generation American, and the second youngest of eight children. She had a love of books and an ear for language, and in 1941 was in the first graduating class of Queens College, earning a bachelor’s degree in Spanish.

When she was 26, she met her future husband on a date arranged by her older sister. They married six months later, hopped into a car for a three-month road trip to Mexico, and returned to Long Island to buy their house in North Merrick, start a family and open a business. Henry started Mindell Drugs on Merrick Avenue in 1946, first near the railway station and later at the corner of Loines Avenue, and it became a family adventure and a Merrick fixture until its sale in 1968.

Evelyn returned to school to earn master’s degrees from Hofstra University in education and library science. For many years after, she taught Spanish in the Wantagh Public Schools, followed by a long tenure as a school librarian there.

Mindell moved from Merrick to Rockville Centre in 1996, and then to New Jersey in 2003, continuing to live independently.

She was known for her warmth, kindness, and interest in others. She was fun and funny, steady and clear-sighted, said her son Paul.