06/28/2024
Elspeth Meyer, 1938-2024, ¡Presente!
Dear family,
We are saddened to share that at 1:45 pm on June 28th, 2024, Elspeth Meyer drew her last breath. A beloved mother, grandmother, sister, neighbor, partner, auntie, elder, comrade, and friend to countless people, she spent her life struggling for the rights and freedom of others and working for the happiness of those around her. Born in Scotland in 1938, she moved to the Brooklyn she so very much identified with and enjoyed in 1969 and lived there for the rest of her life. A dedicated educator and parent advocate, Elspeth worked for decades in daycare and early childhood education, helping to found some of Brooklyn’s most consistently progressive and sustainable schools. Elspeth was a fine artist who also helped design posters for the causes she believed in; she worked in batik, collage, oils, pastels, and markers. An inspiring organizer, she fought without equal as a north american solidarity activist for the freedom of Puerto Rico, working with unparalleled non-sectarianism as a behind-the-scenes support person for all initiatives, individuals, and organizations working to bring about positive change to the land still colonized by US imperialism. As a young supporter of the United Farm Workers labor union and the burgeoning, independent Nigeria where she lived from 1963 to 1968, Elspeth went on to help found Resistance in Brooklyn (RnB), working tirelessly till the very end of her life to free all political prisoners and support all freedom movements, from Haiti to Palestine and beyond. Perhaps her greatest legacy, however, is the warmth and humanity that Elspeth permeated in her encounters with others. Insistent and sometimes stubborn, she nevertheless made a point of sharing kindness, respect, and genuine interest in whomever she was talking to, meeting with, passing by. She loved children (almost all of them but especially her own and her grandchildren) and loved nature and the Botanical Gardens which were right across the street from her home. Now our dear Elspeth is forever a rose in the midst of all nature surrounding us.
Sincerely, all of us.
Elspeth Meyer is survived by her sister Alison Glen; her brother Graeme Brown; her children Erika and Sean; her partner Michael; her grandchildren Shibi, Michael Del, and Molly Soo; and by a large community of loved ones. Plans for her memorial and other tributes will be forthcoming.
