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Mostly Cloudy Rockville Centre native Gail Roth Meister dies at 75
Rockville Centre native Gail Roth Meister died peacefully on Feb. 3 from ovarian cancer at Penn Hospice at Rittenhouse in Philadelphia. She was 75.
Meister was born on Jan. 24, 1947, in Rockville Centre, to Dr. Lee and Lenora (Fleischer) Roth, and became a long time resident of Merchantville, N.J.
Meister graduated from Mount Holyoke College, in Massachusetts, and earned a master’s degree from Yale University, as well as a PhD from Stanford University. Education was central to her life, and after briefly teaching middle and high school adult students, Meister spent more than 30 years working to help educators and schools improve their practice through research, policy and program development and writing and editing. She worked for area consulting firms, including Foundations Inc., in Moorestown, N.J., and the Institute for Research and Reform in Education and Research for Better Schools, in Philadelphia, and as an independent consultant.
Meister was deeply committed to her Jewish faith, and was active at her synagogue, Congregation Rodeph Shalom, in Philadelphia. She served as a trustee and recently helped to design and run a semi-annual educational program for adults. Meister took part in the study of Jewish text, both in her local congregation and elsewhere, through Zoom during the pandemic
She lived a focused life, determined never to put off until tomorrow what could be experienced today. She and her husband, the Rev. JW. Gregg, and daughter, Miriam, traveled whenever they could, and she loved planning their trips. Destinations included the Amazon, southern Africa, Israel and many places throughout Europe and the U.S.
Additionally, Meister enjoyed literature, the theater, museums, historical sights and looked forward to the weekend Inquirer’s list of things-to-do so she could plan the week ahead. She regularly attended the Philadelphia Orchestra, although she no longer played the violin that had gotten her accepted as a child to The Julliard School (which she declined to attend), and delighted each year in hosting family, friends and anyone without a place to go for Thanksgiving dinner.
Meister volunteered in Merchantville, most recently as an editor of the local Merchantville Observer. She relished long bike rides with her husband, especially along the Delaware and Raritan Canal through Lambertville. Following a bad fall from her bike last year, she began walking three to four miles each day, setting out at dawn.
In addition to her husband and daughter, who is a PhD in Seattle, Meister is survived by her brother, Merrill (Ellen) Roth of Athens, N.Y.; her sister, Susan Nurin, of New York City; nieces and nephews, Tamara and Justin (Melissa) Nurin, Stephen and Nina Roth; and numerous cousins and relatives by marriage.
Memorial services for Meister took place on Feb. 6 at Platt Memorial Chapels, 2001 Berlin Road, in Cherry Hill, N.J. Internment took place at Beth Moses Cemetery in West Babylon. Contributions in Meister’s memory can be made to the Jewish organization or cause of your choice, and/or to Mount Holyoke College.
