Frances Meek
Obituary Reports the death of an individual, providing an account of the person’s life including their achievements, any controversies in which they were involved, and reminiscences by people who knew them.
Frances Meek, a former 50-year New Castle resident, died Oct. 13 at Inglemoor Rehabilitation & Care Center, in Livingston, N.J. She was 91.
She was an immensely gracious, calm, warm woman with an easy laugh who was beloved by family and a large circle of friends.
Fran helped hundreds of northern Westchester youngsters and adults become better tennis players at local tennis clubs and as a coach at Horace Greeley High School during her nearly 30 years as a tennis teacher. She was a member of the First Congregational Church of Chappaqua, where she sang in the choir for 50 years.
Fran was born Dec. 24, 1932, in Montclair, N.J., to Howard and Helen Schneidewind, and grew up playing tennis.
When she was 18, she was ranked ninth in the nation in girls’ singles by the United States Tennis Association (USTA). In 1951, when she was 19, she played in the U.S. Championships, the predecessor to the US Open, when it was played on grass at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, Queens.
For Fran, the sport was literally about the joy of playing, in its most basic sense. In an interview for Judy Aydelott’s book, “Sport of a Lifetime,” Fran said that the most enduring parts of the sport for her were the friends she made while exercising in the sun. That joy in friendship and fellowship extended to all parts of her life.
Fran chose college over playing tennis in Europe and entered Duke University. While there, she met C. Robert Meek and they were married in 1954, shortly after they graduated. The couple moved to Chappaqua in 1957, where Fran would live for 50 years until moving to an assisted living facility in 2017.
The couple separated and ultimately divorced in 1970, which meant that Fran, who had been a stay-at-home mother with two young children, now had to work outside the house.
At one point, she drove a school bus for the Chappaqua School District, and at another, worked in a real estate office.
One weekend while playing at Seven Bridges Field Club, the head of the club’s tennis committee noticed the quality of her play and asked her if she was interested in giving tennis lessons. She was, and in 1969, she started her career as tennis teacher, focusing initially on teaching children to play on Seven Bridges’ red clay courts. For a time, she was co-coach of the Horace Greeley High School girls’ tennis team, and even coached the school’s girls’ freshman field hockey team at one point.
In 1978, the Saw Mill Club in Mount Kisco asked her to join its staff, making her its first female pro. In addition to teaching, she was tasked with engaging women who were taking up the game by organizing tennis leagues and USTA teams. She retired from Saw Mill in 1998 but continued to play at the club into her 80s.
Along with family, tennis and the First Congregational Church of Chappaqua, Fran’s other great love was music. A piano always was a fixture in her homes and she was a longtime choir member at her church. On her final day, she was singing along to Ella Fitzgerald songs.
Fran is survived by two children, Leslie Meek-Wohl of Montclair, N.J. and Michael Meek of New York City; their spouses, Ethan Wohl and Valeria Solomonoff; three grandchildren; seven nieces and nephews; and 10 grandnieces and grandnephews.
A memorial service will be held Nov. 16 at 2 p.m. at the First Congregational Church, located at 210 Orchard Ridge Rd. in Chappaqua.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Fran’s name to the Music Fund of the First Congregational Church of Chappaqua or the Katonah Community Center, where she volunteered.
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