A century plus 3

Dorothy Meinke is celebrating 103 years of life — and over 70 years in Seaford — on March 2. A mother, a grandmother, a great grandmother, and even a great-great grandmother, Meinke has no intention of slowing down any time soon, and will continue to bless Seaford with her presence, wisdom, and joy for life.

Meinke was born on March 2, 1920 in Flatbush, Brooklyn, to William and Julia Luhrs. She was one of four children — she had a brother named Billy and sisters named Eleanor and Julienne, all of whom have passed away.

“I was very lucky,” Meinke said of her upbringing to the Herald last year. “I had a wonderful life, I really did. . . . I had a mother and father that loved me, but more importantly loved each other, so we had a very nice family life.”

She met her husband, John Richard “Dick” Meinke, in Brooklyn.

“They were friends as youngsters,” Meinke’s daughter, Donna Schneider, said. “Everyone played in the streets — stick ball, jump rope, roller skating, et cetera.”

Though Dorothy Meinke was a bit of a tomboy, she was voted “Blonde Beauty” in her yearbook at St. Brendan’s High School, which her eventual husband signed. She graduated from St. Brendan’s in 1939.

Richard Meinke had played baseball in high school, and was recruited to play minor league baseball in Florida, but stopped playing due to a knee injury. He returned to Brooklyn, and married Dorothy in 1943. The pair went on to have eight children — Barbara, Judy, Diane, Richard, Eileen, Robert, Dorothy, and Donna.

They moved to Seaford in 1949, when it was mostly farmland. Sunrise Highway was a dirt road, and there was only one school building on Jackson Avenue. The Meinkes were there to see Seaford turn from rural to suburban, particularly when Levittown was built after World War II — something all longtime residents of the Wantagh-Seaford area can recall. Despite this, Meinke believes that Seaford has retained its small town charm.

Richard Meinke passed away in 2008, after decades of loving marriage with Dorothy.

Dorothy Meinke is a 70-year parishioner of St. William the Abbott Roman Catholic Church. She is a grandmother to 21, a great-grandmother to 16, and a great-great grandmother to eight, with more great-great grandchildren on the way.

For her 102nd birthday, Seaford held a parade down Brooklyn Avenue to honor her.

Now at 103, Meinke remains happy and grateful, and Seaford will continue to be blessed as long as she is in town.

What’s the secret to a long life, according to Dorothy?

“She starts her day off with a bowl of oatmeal, every day,” Donna Schneider said. “She uses Dove soap on her beautiful face and enjoys chocolate — any kind, every day.”