Obituary of Beth May

MAY ~ Beth May passed away at the Lloydminster Hospital, Lloydminster, Saskatchewan on Wednesday, July 9, 2014 at the age of 75 years. Beth leaves to mourn her passing: her loving husband, Charlie; sons, Edward (Donna-Lee), Gregory (Lisa), Gerald (Audrey), and Jonathan Mark (Mona-Liza); grandchildren, Shelley (Brian) Beauchesne, Stephanie, Stephen, Cerys, Elin, John, Nathan, Andrew, Brett, Anya and Bishop; great granddaughter, Rylan Emma; sisters, Donna (Zbygnief) Staszczak, Linda (Donald) Holt; brother, Jim (Loretta) Long; and numerous nieces and nephews. The funeral service for Beth May was conducted from the St. John's Anglican Church, Lloydminster, Saskatchewan on Monday, July 14, 2014 at 10:00 AM with Reverend Canon Michael Stonhouse officiating. The Eulogy was given by Murray Long. The organist was Pat Skinner. The active pallbearers were Fred Holden, Joe Holden, Dean Rogers, Tom Holden, Tim Holden and Murray Long. Interment was held at the Lloydminster City Cemetery, Lloydminster, Saskatchewan . Donations in memory of Beth may be made to the Heart & Stroke Foundation. McCaw Funeral Service Ltd., of Lloydminster, Alberta administered the funeral arrangements. EULOGY Good morning, I am Murray Long, nephew to Aunt Beth. I was honored to be asked by Charlie and the boys to say some words of remembrance about Beth May. To honor Beth's life, I've asked them and others: What were the most important things to Beth? I think that asking that question is a good way of telling her story and it is also a way to understand how loved ones saw her and will continue to remember her. So that is what I'd like to talk about this morning. What was important to Beth in her early years? She was born in Maymont but soon Grandma and Grandpa Long moved to the farm by Furness. I think that is where her life began. On that family farm with two other brothers and two other sisters. Place where she learned the value of hard work. She also had a special connection with her horse, Bess and was interested in horsemanship all of her life. For many years the farm was important to Beth, it was a place of gathering, a place of family, a place for growing gardens, and a place for weeding...right guys? I will always be grateful to her and Charlie for making their weekly Sunday visits a priority. I could hardly wait for the arrival of the "May boys" on Sunday afternoons. The farm was important to Aunt Beth; and I will always thank her for that. Beth May had the soul of a teacher--probably from the day she was born but definitely to the day she passed on. She, along with her sisters, followed their mother's footsteps to become a teacher. Following Teachers' College, she started her career in 1958 at Rereshill (near Lashburn) and continued in Maidstone. After starting family, established her own Kindergarten in Lloydminster and taught such geniuses such as her four sons and myself...And look at where were are now! Remember, as they say: It always starts with what you learn in Kindergarten! She went on to teach in Lone Rock, Marshall, Rivercourse and finished up in Lashburn. She was proud of making her students better people. She recently mentioned to Ed that she ran into a couple of people who she had taught 30 years ago. They recognized her and told her that she had had a positive impact in their lives. She loved to spend time with children and watch them grow. She was positive, encouraging and caring when it came to children. I saw it with my own kids and we all saw it with all her grandkids. Teaching was important to Beth. Beth was also a creative person, who appreciated beauty, especially in nature. She enjoyed a variety of arts and crafts, including pottery, painting and tatting. This of course was also an asset when being a kindergarten and primary grade teacher. Aunt Beth also had a great love for nature. She loved evening boat rides on the lake, listening to the loons, and searching out tiger lilies. At home she had her bird feeders because she loved to watch the birds year around and when it comes to gardening, we have evidence right now. If you drive by the house today, you will see that Beth's lilies are in full bloom in the front yard. Creativity and seeing beauty in nature were important to Beth. There is a little cabin at the north end of Loon Lake at a place called Pine Cove that is important to Beth. The story begins though with the annual summer trips to Stabler point, staying in a small tent trailer with four young boys...can you imagine... Buying that cabin may well be the best investment that Uncle Charlie and Aunt Beth ever made--in more ways than one. "Pine Cove", as we call it, has become a sanctuary and a place for the next generation of grandchildren to gather for the May family. It is new place for stories like the great wind and tree fall of 1983 and the forest fire of 2003. It is a place for fun, for water skiing, tubing and dumping grandkids in the "toilet bowls". It has also become a place for the larger family to gather from time to time. I can tell you that that Charlie and Beth were proud and pleased to make Pine Cove a place to come to and create memories for their family. The lake and Pine Cove is important to Beth and of course, Beth was a wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother. Her love for Charlie and her family was unconditional right to the end. She would stand behind you no matter what. It was not good to cross Beth and her family just like you wouldn't walk between a bear and its cub. Her commitment to her husband is a model for us all. She never gave up on him, just as he did not on her and they enjoyed over 50 years of marriage. She was always 100 per cent behind her four sons. Starting with encouraging them through school and university or tech school. Then she helped each of them become better parents as they started raising their own families. Sure, there were times when her patience was tried. I'm told when one was in trouble she was known to name everybody: Shouting at Greg went like this: "Ed, Gerry, Mark, GREG! Quit that!" Becoming a grandmother was perhaps most rewarding to Beth in her later years. After investing time, energy and love as a working mother, Beth saw her sons marry four good women and each start their own families. Beth and Charlie loved to visit and spend time with all their grandchildren, whether it was trips to Edmonton and Calgary or the overseas flights to the England and Wales. Family and being a grandma is important to Beth. To all 11 grandkids and one little great grandchild, I know you are sad and will miss Grandma Beth. I say to you that it is important to remember Grandma Beth and the the things that were important to her. It will help put you on a good path and continue the legacy of your grandmother. Her family is important to Beth and it always, always will be. So all of these things were important to Aunt Beth: growing up on the farm, teaching her students and her family, enjoying beauty in both her crafts and in nature, making the Pine Cove cabin the place to come to, and raising her family and becoming a grandmother, but as I wrote this, I came to realize that the most important thing to Beth, underlies all of this: It is the people that were part of her life that made all of these things important, friends, neighbors, colleagues, nieces, nephews, cousins, brothers, sisters, daughters-in-law, grandkids, great grandkids, sons and husband. Each of you had an important place in Beth May's life and I'm sure she thanks each of you from the bottom of her heart for that. May we all remember her forever. CARD OF THANKS The May family would like to thank everyone who made donations in Beth's memory, for bringing food and flowers. Thank you to Reverend Canon Michael Stonhouse for officiating, Pat Skinner for playing the organ and to Murray Long for giving the eulogy