He loved music and taught history and political science for more than 30 years, but Peter Meintsma will best be remembered in Crystal as the city's longest serving mayor, a man who brought a civil tone to civic discourse.
Meintsma, 88, died Nov. 4 of complications of Parkinson's disease. He lived in Wayzata at the time, but had called Crystal home for 59 years. Meintsma was mayor of the northwestern suburb twice: first from 1974 to 1984 and then from 1992 to 2004.
In his last year as mayor, Meintsma received the Minnesota League of Cities' C.C. Ludwig Award, the group's highest honor for elected city officials.
"He really believed in civil discourse and rational discussion, and thought people can agree or disagree, but still protect each other's rights to share their opinions," said Ann Norris, Crystal's city manager since 2000. She was Crystal's community development director when Meintsma encouraged her to shoot for the city manager's post.
Meintsma was born on his family's farm in Maple Lake, Minn., and graduated from Buffalo High School at age 16. He graduated with a music degree from Bob Jones University in South Carolina. Meintsma's specialty was singing, and he was a longtime member of church choirs.
He was drafted into the U.S. Army after college and ended up in Washington, D.C., working for the army's Counter Intelligence Corps. In D.C., he met the love of his life, Sonny, who worked at the CIA as a key puncher, entering secret data into computers. They married and returned to Minnesota, where Peter got a master's degree in history and political science from the University of Minnesota.
Meintsma started college-level teaching in the late 1950s. By 1966, he'd landed at Anoka-Ramsey Community College in Coon Rapids, where he would teach until 2000.
Meintsma was born into a very conservative family, said his son, Kevin Meintsma. But a "gradual accumulation of events and circumstances changed his worldview."
