Of hard work, family, and lessons that last a lifetime
DELMAR — When Joseph Meister turns 99 years old on Monday, May 5, it will mark nearly a century spent valuing the things he learned early in life: the rewards of hard work, the importance of education, and the lasting bonds of family and community.
Born in Albany in 1926 to Emil and Theresa Meister, Joe’s early years were shaped by the challenges of the Great Depression. He worked alongside his parents and five brothers at the family’s market on Ontario Street, hauling heavy bags of potatoes, packing fresh produce, and helping to smoke sausages in the basement’s custom-built smokehouse. His father often worked late into the night, carefully preparing liverwurst and bologna in copper kettles.
“There wasn’t much time for play,” Joe said. “But I’m happy with the life I had.”
Joe attended the Vincentian Institute, where he graduated with the Class of 1944 after an early commencement to meet the demands of wartime service. Drafted into the U.S. Army, he served as a heavy gunner in the 395th Infantry during World War II, earning the Combat Infantry Badge and several campaign medals.
Training was cut short by urgency. Joe recalled battling ingrown toenails as he prepared to ship overseas, joking that even minor injuries weren’t enough to slow the Army’s schedule. After arriving in Europe, he was pulled aside for his skills learned in the family market. Joe was handed 50 lambs and tasked with butchering them to feed the troops.
“I didn’t mind,” he said. “It was good to do something useful.”
Following his honorable discharge in 1946, Joe returned home to work at Emil Meister’s Meat Market, eventually helping run the business until his retirement at age 72. Along the way, he married Elizabeth “Betty” Dorvee in 1949, and together they built a home in Delmar, raising five daughters: Jo-Ann, Patricia, Kathleen, Elizabeth and Michele.
Education was a constant priority in their household. Betty, a nurse at St. Peter’s Hospital, often told their daughters, “What you put in your head now will make a difference later.” Joe has carried that message forward, sharing it with his children, neighbors, and young people he meets.
“Joe is the type of person who makes the world feel lighter,” Liam Raleigh wrote in a letter to the editor. “He’ll pause mid-task to ask, ‘How are you really doing?’ And listen like nothing else matters.”
After Betty’s death in 2002, Joe honored her belief in lifelong learning by helping to establish a scholarship fund through St. Thomas the Apostle Church. Students compete each year by writing essays about their dreams for the future, with the best awarded a scholarship to support their education.
“The more you know, the better choices you can make,” Joe said. “Nobody can take away what’s in your head.”
Today, Joe still lives in the home he and Betty built in 1952. He enjoys tending to his yard, visiting with neighbors, and watching his growing family—ten grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren—pursue their own paths.
Though the neighborhood has changed over the decades, Joe says the spirit of friendship and support remains strong. It is a community built, much like his life, on steady work, generosity, and a belief that small efforts, repeated over time, can lead to something lasting.
“I’ve had a beautiful life,” Joe said. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
