Deirdre Sulka Meister, 53, of Portland, died at her home on Sunday, June 2, 2024, of ovarian cancer. She was surrounded by her child, Violet Sulka/Hewes, Violet’s partner Sarina Hanfling, and her dear friend Robin Illian. Many friends lovingly cared for her during her final days in hospice.
Deirdre was born on January 14th, 1971 in New York City to Elaine Sulka and Philip Meister, co-founders of the National Shakespeare Company and of The Cubiculo, an experiential theater situated in a Hell’s Kitchen brownstone, where Deirdre spent her childhood. Following her graduation from New York’s Stuyvesant High School in 1989 and subsequently from Evergreen State College, in Olympia, Washington in 1993, Deirdre lived in and traveled between Washington, California, Texas, and Guatemala. After training as a midwife at Maternidad La Luz in El Paso, Texas, Deirdre moved to Austin to practice homebirth midwifery and then back to New York City, where she gave birth to her child, Violet, in 1999.
In 2000, Deirdre moved to Portland, Maine with her then husband Lawrence Hughes IV and their child Violet. In Portland, Deirdre started Open Circle Midwifery, a home birth midwifery practice, supporting hundreds of families, and catching hundreds of babies in Southern Maine. Deirdre was also a core member of Portland’s 5 Rhythms dance community, One Dance Portland, and Portland Community Dance. Deirdre graduated from the University of Southern Maine as a Family Nurse Practitioner in 2011. She began practicing at Royal River Family Practice in Yarmouth and later founded Open Circle Health, which is still a thriving health care practice in South Portland today.
Deirdre was predeceased by her father, Philip Meister in 1982, her mother Elaine Sulka in 1994, and her husband Alan Day in 2008.
In addition to Violet, Deirdre is survived by a wide circle of loving friends from the dance community, the birthing community, the cancer community, and beyond.
Funeral and Burial for Deirdre were held at the Cedar Brook Burial Ground in Limington, Maine on June 4, 2024
A celebration of Deirdre’s life will be held at Freeport’s Winslow Park on June 29th from 10am – 1pm.