Janie Lucille May

Janie Lucille May went to her eternal home on April 17, 2019. She was born on December 21, 1919 at her parent’s farm near Moultrie, Georgia. Lucille was the second of nine children born to Tom and Ethel Gibbs. She graduated from Moultrie High School in 1937 and went into nurses training at Macon General Hospital. In June of 1941, she met Richard (Dick) May, a lieutenant in the Army Air Corp. Dick was from Battle Creek, Michigan, and was stationed at Cochran Field, near Macon. They were married on December 20, 1941. Lucille gave birth to her first son, Richard H. May Jr, on May 4, 1943 while in Bainbridge GA and to her second son, Thomas E. May, on August 7, 1946 while in Moultrie GA. She was a devoted stay-at-home mother for her two boys. After her sons left home, she spent a few years as a real estate agent.

Lucille loved home decorating and was an accomplished seamstress. This was good because she moved 22 times in her 70-year marriage to Dick. She made lots of curtains in those years, as well as clothes for her children and grandchildren. Lucille was a superb home maker who delighted in cooking and entertaining. Her home was a favorite location for social events and for her bridge clubs to meet. At Springfield United Methodist Church in Northern Virginia, she directed the church kitchen and it was the most popular spot in Springfield to have weddings and other types of banquets. Her needlework items were popular at church bazaars wherever she and Dick lived, especially in Valdosta. Lucille also had a soft heart for those in need. She was noted for her charitable efforts through various Air Force Officer Wives Clubs. During the Vietnam War, she represented the Pentagon Air Force Officer Wives Club at countless military funerals at Arlington National Cemetery, providing comfort to bereaved families. She has been a devoted member of the United Methodist Church wherever she lived. She was a member of Park Avenue United Methodist Church in Valdosta GA when she died.

Lucille is survived by her son Richard H. May Jr. of Springfield NE and his wife Marylyn; her son Thomas E. May of Marietta GA and his wife Jane; her sister Faye Henson of Lexington KY and her husband Wiley; her brother Darrell Gibbs of Moultrie GA; plus four grandchildren Matthew May, Laura (Jim) Podlasek, Julie (Tim) Trumble, and David May; and nine great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, Richard H. “Dick” May, Col, USAF (Ret), on November 14, 2011.

The funeral for Mrs. May will be held at 2 p.m. on Monday, April 22, 2019 in the chapel of Carson McLane Funeral Home. Dr. D. Craig Rikard will officiate. Entombment will follow beside her husband at the McLane Riverview Memorial Gardens Mausoleum. The family will receive friends at funeral home on Monday from 1 p.m. until service time. Condolences may be conveyed to the family on the obituary page of www.mclanecares.com Carson McLane Funeral Home.