Meir, Josef H., 88, January 1, 2014. Interment held in the Mt. Sinai Cemetery, Daytona Beach, Florida.
Josef H. Meir, MD, of Ponce Inlet, Florida and Cape Elizabeth, Maine, passed away peacefully on January 1, 2014, just shy of his 89th birthday.
Josef was born in Baghdad, Iraq, though his family moved to Palestine (now Israel) when he was a small child. He attended medical school at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. Midway through his training, Josef volunteered to serve as one of the first 3,000 soldiers in the War of Independence which led to the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. After the war, he received his medical degree at the University of Geneva, Switzerland. Josef traveled extensively throughout his medical training and career to the U.S., Canada, Denmark, and Sweden (where he met his wife), eventually settling and raising his family in Caribou, Maine. As a general surgeon in Caribou, he also established a private medical practice. An avid runner ahead of the times, Josef ran several marathons, and trained throughout the year even in frigid weather. He retired in 1992, and enjoyed his daily runs, and later walks, at the lighthouses and beaches of Maine and Florida. He was fluent in four languages and vacationed frequently with his wife in exotic locations.
Josef was laid to rest at a private family service at the Mt. Sinai cemetery in Daytona Beach. He is survived by his wife, to whom he was married for over 47 years; four daughters; one son; and three grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, please consider a Tribute Donation to Doctors without Borders (https://www. doctorswithoutborders.org /donate/tribute.cfm).
