Dr. Michelle ‘Mikki’ Meyer, of Highland, passed away in 2024 after a short illness; she was 75.

Mikki was a therapist, educator, entrepreneur, mother to a son and daughter, had two grandchildren and two sisters and a brother.

Mikki was born and raised in Miami, attended Southwest High and graduated from the University of South Florida, Florida International University in West Miami and earned a PhD in Psychology from Union Institute & University when she was 50 years old.

In 1982 Mikki and then husband Frank Meyer moved to Westchester County and she started a marriage and family therapy practice in New York City, later moving to Highland in the late 1990s.

After Frank’s passing, Mikki met Howard Schwartz in 2011 and they were together until her death. He said they were fixed up by his publicist in New York City, where he had his recording business.

Howard said he came to know Mikki better through local residents John and Beth Storyk. He met John in New York City in 1975 and built Howard’s recording studio a few years after completing the renowned Electric Lady Recording Studio in Greenwich Village in 1970.

Howard said Mikki was always involved in the town of Lloyd, serving on the Economic Development Committee [EDC] for 25 years, “so she was always in tune with everybody in town and Mikki knew everybody, put another way, everybody knew Mikki. She tried to get the EDC to think more inclusively about having new people come into town to keep things growing. It was a lot of fun watching everybody kind of dance around trying to get the downtown to be a little more vibrant. She really wanted the town to grow as opposed to the way it had been before.”

Howard said there was no misunderstanding who Mikki was, “and even though she was slight in physical stature she was a giant personality and she had an enormous family around the world.” Howard said when she was young Mikki and her first husband owned an Eastern European restaurant known as The Famous in Miami Beach. During the 1970s she was very involved in creating the Miami Art Deco District, an area of historic buildings in South Beach.

Howard said she bought 20 Milton Avenue in Highland, “and created a business called the Mid Hudson Professional Offices and ran it as temporary office space.”

Howard said Mikki was involved early on with Fred Schaeffer in the creation of the Walkway Over the Hudson and has long been a financial supporter. At her urging Howard became a member of the Walkway Board.

In looking back Howard summed up Mikki as a, “quirky, private, very ethical about her work, wonderful, deep, read all the time, an avid Miami Dolphin fan, had a great laugh and giggle and loved her glass of wine. While she was working, I would cook up a cool dinner for her so when she came downstairs at 7 o’clock it was laid out on the table.” He quickly added a but, “first of all, she was gorgeous, had a great smile, liked to laugh and she had a snarky sense of humor that most people didn’t get including me. We had two fireplaces and had no problem staying home and loved being here in the winter even when we couldn’t get out and above all, Mikki really took care of everybody.”

John Storyk said he and Mikki initially crossed paths while working for the Walkway over the Hudson, a friendship that spanned nearly 20 years.

“She’s a neighbor; as the crow flies we live 500 yards away,” he said.

John said after Howard closed down his recording studio business he was surprised to learn that he and Mikki were dating and that he was regularly commuting up to Highland to see her.

“All of a sudden Mikki was in our lives a lot and the next thing my wife Beth and I and Howard and Mikki become ‘I Love Lucy’ and we’re almost doing everything together, seeing them three times a week, traveling to Italy together and we became extremely close during these twelve years,” he said.

Storyk said it became clear that in the last six months Mikki was struggling with health issues that eventually led to her passing, “which really shook us up. We weren’t expecting this.”
John described Mikki, “as a really good listener and would always embrace whatever you wanted to discuss. When we were talking I would tell her I have a job in Iceland and Mikki would inevitably say I have a cousin in Iceland. She always had a connection to what you were talking about and Howard and I would smile and turn to Mikki and say, of course you do. What she was really trying to do was to embrace the situation and there was no situation that ultimately became strange for her.”

John recalled that Mikki was very happy living in Highland, which rubbed off on Howard.

“She had a beautiful historic home here for the better part of her life,” he said. “We’re all going to miss her and miss that smile.”

Mikki’s daughter Jana Abel Bennett said her mother was a ‘true inspiration,’ and was a single mother during her childhood and remarried when Jana was 10 years old.

“She was quite independent woman and a very hard worker. She went back to school, got her PhD and had her Marriage and Family Therapy business. She taught my brother and me the importance of staying grounded, focused and being hard working. She was amazing and really kind and generous to the people around her,” she said.

Mikki also worked for Pius XII, a children’s aid society in New York City.

“I have her cell phone and people still leave her messages saying they need her help but didn’t know that she passed. I know that she touched so many lives,” Jana said.

Jana said although her mother was just shy of 5 feet in height she always had a strong opinion that she offered in a gentle way.

“She was very proud of her accomplishments, worked hard to get there but cracked great funny silly jokes,” Jana said.

Ryan Meyer said he admired his mother for never giving in to defeat and, “when she was in her 40s she decided to become a doctor. It took her 10 years, but she did it and to me that’s always been a symbol that it’s never too late to change anything in your life to make it better.”

Ryan often thinks about his mother, “She excelled in everything and conquered everything that she put her mind to. She was always striving for better.” He said his mother was influenced by the elders in her family, “All of our grandparents were self-starters and promoted the idea that you can change your world, you have the instincts and all the tools to succeed.”