Date of death: 7/11/2012
Saint Meinrad Class: O 1961
Clarence William May, 76, of Owensboro, passed away on July 11, 2012 at Owensboro Medical Health System. He was born in Tell City, Indiana to the late William Lee and Mary Pauline (Miller) May. He was Navy Veteran of the Korean War. Clarence served as a medical corpsman attached to a Marine Unit out of Camp Lejeune, N.C.Clarence was a member of Saints Joseph and Paul Catholic Church where he sang in the choir and served as a lector. He was an insurance man in Owensboro for fifty years. Thirty six of those were with State Farm Insurance.He dedicated over 60 years of his life to community volunteerism. This included forty three years with local theatre groups. He was a founding member of Back Alley Musicals and longtime member of Trinity Players and Theatre Workshop of Owensboro. He served as chairman of the Local American Heart Association and served three years on Mayor Adkisson’s Vision 2000 Program. He was also a lay minister. He spent 12 years offering pastoral care through the Chaplain’s Office at OMHS, participated in prison ministry at Eddyville State Penitentiary and founded Sojourners Christian Unity Organization. Clarence enjoyed golfing, reading, fishing, poker playing, traveling, writing and reciting poetry. He was a loyal member of a special social poker club that started in 1908. His greatest joys were his faith, family, friends and his love of theatre arts.He is survived by his wife of 33 years, Donna Shaffer May; daughter, Faith May of Owensboro; sons, Roger May (Patti) of Owensboro and Ben May (Dawn) of Murfreesboro,TN; step-sons, David Epperson (Stacey) of Louisville, KY and Michael Epperson (Missy) of Owensboro; grandchildren, Alex, Micah and Hannah May, Maggie, Gabrielle and Eric Epperson; brothers, Glenn May (Lois) and Ben May (Cindy), both of Tell City; sisters, Maxine Cotner of Henderson, KY and Jean Ann May of Louisville, KY and numerous nieces and nephews.