Obituary: John M. May, of Southold, Dies at 87

Info via DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Homes

Died: August 21, 2015

Visitation: The family will receive friends on Wednesday, August 26 and Thursday, August 27 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Homes on 51400 Main Road in Southold.

Services: The Liturgy of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday, August 28 at 11 a.m. at St. Mary’s R.C. Church on 110 Bryant Avenue in Roslyn Harbor. Father Thomas P. Murray will be officiating.

Interment will follow at St. Patrick’s R.C. Cemetery on 4017 Main Bayview Road in Southold.

(For those not able to travel out east to attend the wake, the family will greet friends at the church starting at 10:15 a.m. to share memories over a cup of coffee and a bagel.)

Obituary: John M. May, a Southold resident for more than 25 years died on Friday from complications due to kidney disease. He was 87.

May was board chairman at Peconic Landing for the last 12 years, he strived to make the Greenport lifecare community the best place for seniors to enjoy their retirement.

He had served on organization’s board of trustees since it began over 20 years ago and served as chairman since 2003.

LeadingAge New York, a state-wide organization of retirement communities, awarded Peconic Landing the Innovation of the Year award in 2012 for developing a “Community Connection” program.

“One of the reasons Peconic Landing exists today is because of John May,” Peconic Landing president and CEO Robert Syron said. “This man was just brilliant. He was one of the most influential men in my life.”

In addition, May served on boards at Long Island University and Eastern Long Island Hospital.

He was also a nationally ranked tennis player, who continued to compete into his 80s, as well as a loving husband and father of 11 children.

During his college years at University of North Carolina, his tennis team finished third in the nation in 1948.

May was also ranked nationally with the United States Tennis Association and continued to play in a variety of tournaments.

In 2011, he was honored by the Long Island Division of the Eastern Division of the United States Tennis Association as the outstanding player for men’s singles 80 and above.

He was also involved in politics, hosting a fundraiser to kick off Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy’s campaign in 1996 and he did the same in 2002 for Congressman Tim Bishop, whom he had known for more than 30 years.

Family, colleagues and friends, including Bishop, remember May as a perennial optimist who got the most out of life at every possible turn.

Outside of the family, his son Paul said his father was widely known and adored for his commitment to the local community.

May is predeceased by his oldest son, Danny.

He is survived by his wife Elinor, their eleven children and their spouses, 27 grandchildren, five great grandchildren, his sisters Jackie Woolley and Jill Lundberg and his brother-in-law Dave Lundberg, several nieces and nephews, and numerous friends.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the May Foundation, 17638 Trenton Drive, Castro Valley, California 95456.