Faith Meinero, 87, longtime Glen Cove resident and teacher ' s aide

Faith Meinero – a Glen Cove resident for 55 years and teacher's aide at the city's Robert M. Finley Middle School for 18 years – died at her home on Nov. 10, 2019.  She was 87.

Born in Corona, New York, on Oct. 12, 1932, Meinero was the youngest of four children of Joseph and Katherine Loscocco.  Her father, who immigrated from Puglia in Italy, served in the U.S. Army in World War I and worked as a tailor.  Her mother, the daughter of Italian immigrants, worked as a seamstress.

In January 1950, Meinero graduated, with honor, from Newtown High School in Queens. While she dreamed of going to college, she did not have the opportunity.  Nevertheless, she maintained a lifelong love of education and learning.

In 1951, she met Jack T. Meinero – a mechanic from Brooklyn and future account executive for the Firestone Tire and Rubber Co. – and began a love affair that lasted more than 67 years.  Their first date - Valentine's Day - was an Ella Fitzgerald concert.  They wed on Nov. 24, 1951, and were married until Jack's death on Feb. 25, 2017.

Meinero and her family moved in 1964 to Glen Cove, where she lived the rest of her life.  She relished the city – its stores, restaurants, beaches and, most of all, its diverse population. She helped establish a community theater group, Theater II of Glen Cove, during the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Meinero was a beloved figure in Glen Cove's public schools.

She was active in the Glen Cove Parent Teacher Association in the early 1970s.  Her four children graduated from Glen Cove High School.

In 1978, she began working as a teacher's aide in the Middle School's special education department.  Through her zest for teaching and by imparting numerous learning "tricks" she invented, she helped countless students overcome learning disabilities and study successfully.

Her greatest passion was bringing her talent and community theater experience to student productions.  She directed several plays at Landing School during the early 1980s and shepherded numerous acclaimed musicals at the Middle School from the mid-1980s until her retirement in 1996.

Meinero was laid to rest with her late husband at St. Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale on Nov. 15, 2019.  The family is planning a memorial service in the Glen Cove area in spring 2020.

Meinero is survived by her four children – who she considered her greatest accomplishment – and five grandchildren: Mark, his wife, Angela, and their children, Megan and Aaron, of Congers, New York; Jared, his wife, Teresa, and their sons, Zachary and Hayden, of Westport, Connecticut; Michela Barra, her husband, John, and their son, Jack, of Glen Cove; and Seth Adam of Silver Spring, Maryland.

In lieu of flowers, her family has requested donations in her honor to Rosie's Theater Kids, an arts education organization dedicated to enriching the lives of children through the performing arts. For more information, visit https://rosiestheaterkids.org/ .