May, Marvel 1927-2009

MAY, VINCENT, PICKENS, THOMPSON, VINNES, MCDOWELL

Posted By: Marilyn Holmes (email)
Date: 11/11/2011 at 07:50:30

The Grinnell (IA) Herald-Register; Sept. 24, 2009

MARVEL MAY

Marvel May, 82, of Grinnell died Sept. 19, 2009, at St. Francis Manor in Grinnell.

A memorial service was held Wednesday, Sept. 23, at the Smith Funeral Home in Grinnell with Pastor Todd Follette, Grinnell First Friends Church, officiating. Honorary bearers will be Tom, Chris, Jason, Brenden, Levi, and Quentin Thompson. A private family burial will be held at Rock Creek Cemetery. Visitation was held at Smith Funeral Home on Tuesday.

Memorial contributions may be directed to the Marvel May Memorial Fund.

Marvel was born July 2, 1927, in Mendota, Mo., the daughter of William and Idona Vincent Pickens. As a young girl, she moved with her family to Grinnell where she was raised and received her education.

On Oct. 3, 1944, Marvel was united in marriage to Glen L. "Red" May, in Newburg. The couple lived in Gilman, moved to Newburg in 1968, and later moved to Grinnell in 1998. Marvel took great pride in raising her family and taking care of her home. She began working for the Gilman School Lunch Program in 1965 and then, was employed at Wenco in Grinnell for several years beginning in 1969. She later worked as a cook at Friendship Manor in Grinnell and retired in 1991. She was a member of the Grinnell First Friends Church.

Marvel participated for several years in the bluegrass concerts held at the Grinnell Community Center. She loved to sing, and she and Red loved to dance. She was a great cook and her specialty was baking fried bread. Marvel was also a hard worker who would work extra hours so her kids could have something special at times, and she loved spending the whole summer with her two grandsons--taking them camping and fishing and traveling throughout the state of Iowa.

Survivors include her daughter, Sydney Thompson of Searsboro; two grandsons; five great-grandchildren; one sister, Louise Vinnes of Fort Dodge; and a special friend, Eva McDowell of Grinnell. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband in 1999; her son, Danny L. May in 1990; and eleven siblings.