Ria Meade, Port Washington painter, poet, potter who lost her sight to juvenile diabetes, dies at 69

Ria Meade didn't look for the spotlight — she simply wanted to fit in, friends and family said. But when juvenile diabetes stole her eyesight at age 29, the Port Washington artist found a way to stand out.

"She was living with my parents and woke up one day and couldn't see. I think she knew it was coming; she accepted it when it happened," said Meade's sister, Anne Meade, of Port Washington.

Ria Meade died of diabetes on June 4 at age 69.

Maria "Ria" Meade was born on Oct. 19, 1955, in Manhasset. A lifelong lover of the arts, she graduated from Manhasset High School and went on to study at the University of Hartford Art School, earning a bachelor of fine arts in 1977. Once she lost her vision, Meade's love of painting took a backseat to navigating her new life.

"It was hard in the beginning. She didn't have a dog and there wasn't really a place where she could learn to be blind," said Meade's sister.

After a kidney transplant in 1985, Ria Meade was given a guide dog. According to her sister, Meade loved being at The Seeing Eye center with others like her, training her dog.

"They didn't allow them to do anything but be with the dog. She was there for two months and she just kept going, despite all of the medical problems she had," said Anne Meade.

Ria Meade took an interest in looming and made blankets, did pottery with a therapist, and found her way to writing poetry and prose. She enjoyed reading, music, speaking at schools and garden clubs, and visiting her brother in Montauk.

Meade eventually moved to Port Washington, in a house across from the library. According to her sister, Meade loved going to the library's reading and writing groups and spent a great deal of time there.

She adored the arts

Wendi Levitt knew Meade for more than 40 years, as a friend and personal reader. Levitt said she was "astonished by everything she did in her home independently" and that Meade "had a great sense of humor."

"We immediately connected, the way you do with one or two people you meet in your life where you know you'll be best friends forever," said Levitt, of Roslyn. "We had nothing in common and everything in common."

Levitt met with Meade once a week to read and always found her to be a "great listener who was very smart and very determined." According to Levitt, as an author, Meade's writing was key to her existence.

"She had been an artist, but now she was painting again with words, and that made her happy," Levitt said. "She always said to me that she was a very different person now than when she was sighted; she was more meek before, but she became more assertive because she had to be."

An accomplished poet, potter and weaver, Meade adored the arts, especially when expressing her emotions through words. Her work often explored her blindness, what brought her joy in life, and her affection for her dogs.

"Her first dog was a big yellow Labrador named Rusty. She called him 'The General' because he showed her the way," Anne Meade said of her sister's relationship with her many service dogs over the years. "All of her dogs were very special to her."

Ria Meade published several books, including "In the Sun," "The Visit" and "Someday a Sunrise." Her poetry was featured in many collections and anthologies across Long Island. Meade's sister believes she would want to be remembered as a caring individual.

"She was so passionate about her different interests," her sister said. "She truly cared about people and animals and was very understanding of other people and their limitations. That's her legacy."

In addition to her sister, Meade is survived by her brother, Tom, and sister-in-law, Bless. A funeral Mass was celebrated on Tuesday at St. Mary's Church in Manhasset. Donations were made to The Seeing Eye in Morristown, New Jersey.