Shelter Island Reporter obituary: Edna May Meade

Edna May Meade (nee Thompson) died on May 16, 2020, at the age of 88.
Born Nov. 18, 1931, she lived in Greenwich Village, N.Y. until moving to Jackson Heights, Queens, during the Depression.

She was a 1949 graduate of Newtown High School in Queens, where she was captain of the cheerleading squad. She then attended Barbizon Modeling School, after which she worked as a model touring all over the United States for Majestic Fashions, a sports wear company.

She married James Clayton Meade in August 1951, and they lived in Jackson Heights, where she continued her career in modeling and he as a draftsman.

One summer she and her husband visited Shelter Island. When it was time to head back home, her husband said he was never leaving.

They gave up their home, their careers and moved to Shelter Island and bought a home on Tower Hill Road and never left. She and her husband opened a small gift shop, The Wheelhouse, and ran it for several years.

While also pursuing their love of sports car racing, they could often be found at Bridgehampton Raceway or Lime Rock Raceway and Thompson Speedway in Connecticut.

Later on, Edna became well known as “The Paper Lady,” as she delivered newspapers year-round on the Island for many years until retiring in her late 60s.

She loved Shelter Island and the community of friends she made in her over 50 years living here. She said she would never leave and she never did.

Edna was predeceased by her husband in 1983 and is survived by her brother, Thomas Thompson (Joyce), her niece Debra (Joseph) her nephew Douglas (Kim), and her grandniece and grandnephew, Maygan and Liam Thompson.