Sept. 14, 1924 – Oct. 22, 2024
William Wimberley “Bill” May, a cherished husband, father, grandfather and friend, passed away peacefully in his home surrounded by family on Oct. 22, 2024, at the age of 100.
Born on Sept. 14, 1924, in Meridian, Bill graduated from Meridian High School and then attended Perkinston Junior College on the Gulf Coast, where he excelled in football and tennis. On August 28, 1943, he joined the United States Navy where he began flight training school at Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, Calif. (known as “The Air Devils”) and continued officer training at Notre Dame. His commitment to returning home after the war led him to leave flight school and finish the war in the Pacific Theater as an ensign aboard the USS. Lowndes, where he survived Typhoon Ida that hit the Sea of Japan shortly after Japan’s surrender.
On his return home, rumor has it that he and his shipmates commandeered a surplus jeep they used for R&R excursions in the Philippines and Hawaii. He assured his grandson that the jeep was appropriately returned to the U.S. Navy dockyard at Norfolk, Va., where the ship was then docked and decommissioned. Bill was honorably discharged on May 16, 1946 in New Orleans, where he returned home on a train conducted by his father, engineer Charles Ellzey May. He was a recipient of the World War II Victory Medal.
Following the war, Bill completed his education at Mississippi State University on the G.I. Bill, where he was a member of the Kappa Alpha fraternity. After graduating with a B.S. in Institutional & Industrial Management, he married his college sweetheart in 1948, Jean LaDelle Conger of Rosedale. Together they moved to Charleston, Miss., where he was a founding member of the Tallahatchie Country Club and a Commissioner for the City of Charleston from 1972-1976. He had a twenty-year career in the newspaper business, purchasing The Mississippi Sun in 1954, and the Sumner Sentinel in 1973, which was combined to form The Sun-Sentinel, reporting the news for all of Tallahatchie County. He was known for mentoring those who wanted to work in journalism and photography or in the printing business.
Jean predeceased him in 1974, and in 1975 he wed Frances Jones Ellis of Clarksdale. Bill and Fran enjoyed many years of child-rearing in Clarksdale with his five and her three children. He was a member of Oakhurst Baptist Church, where he served as a deacon and was active in the church choir. In 1989 Bill and Fran moved from Clarksdale to Columbus, where they owned and operated The Chalet framing business, then later moved from there to the Cordova/Memphis area, where together they enjoyed a long real estate career.
They had recently retired to Nashville, where Bill spent his later years creating crafts, wooden crosses and churches for his friends and family. He celebrated his 100th birthday last month surrounded by over 50 family members, friends and mentees.
Bill was an outdoorsman and enjoyed spending time at Desoto Lake. He was an ace tennis player and scratch golfer well into his 80’s. His passion for boats continued into civilian life when he became a sailboat (Thistle) builder and racer. He was an avid reader his entire adult life, never met a stranger, and was loved by most who met him.
He was a golfing friend with Tennessee Ernie Ford and gave sailing lessons to William Faulkner back in the day.
Bill was predeceased by his parents, Emma Amanda Wimberley and Charles Ellzey May, his sister Charlene May Malonee, and his first wife Jean LaDelle Conger May.
He is survived by his devoted wife of nearly fifty years, Frances Jones Ellis May; his five children, Jean Conger May Clinton, William Wimberley May, Jr., Charles Conger May, Margaret Clower May Huston (Carey) and Rebecca Amanda May Walters (Armstrong), his three stepchildren, William Donald Ellis (Misty), Mark Alan Ellis (Ellen) and Truitt Clayton Ellis (Carrie). He is also survived by his grandchildren Sarah Clinton Hudson (Mark), Margaret Hillary Clinton, Mary Caroline May Wynn (Park), Rebecca Turner Dunn Moulton (Vinnie, III), William Franklin Dunn, III (Elizabeth), Charles Lewis Dunn, Adeline Wimberley Walters and Margaret Elizabeth Walters, and William Ellis, Katherine Ellis, Sarah Frances Ellis, Julia Ellis, Polly Ellis, Clayton Ellis and Claire Ellis. He leaves behind four great grandchildren as well, Anders and Reed Hudson and Eleanor and William Wynn, along with many cherished nieces and nephews.
The family extends their heartfelt gratitude to Heart and Soul Hospice for the compassionate care provided during his final days that allowed him to pass away in his home with family. In lieu of flowers, those wishing to honor Bill may wish to consider a donation to the Bill and Jean May Mississippi Sun Scholarship Fund, University of Mississippi Endowment, 406 University Avenue, Oxford, MS 38655 or a charity of your choice.
Arrangements for a memorial service are incomplete at this time and will be forthcoming. Bill will be remembered for his adventurous spirit, a life well lived, and his caring demeanor. His legacy will continue through all those whose lives he touched.
