MARGARET MAY obituary

Margaret Lorraine (Carr) May was born on the family homestead near Black's Coulee in Chouteau County, Mont.

She was one of six children born to Matthew and Catherine (Higgins) Carr. Margaret received her early education at the Prairie City Country School. She finished her secondary education at the St. Thomas School in Great Falls, where she graduated from high school in 1932. In the years that followed she worked as a housekeeper, nanny and waitress. Margaret married Uriel May on Jan. 24, 1942, in Hingham. They lived in Inverness, where Uriel worked as a janitor at the high school. In 1949 they moved to Havre, which became their home from that time on. In addition to working diligently as a homemaker and mother of eight, Margaret was a self-employed seamstress for several clothing shops in Havre. Uriel worked for Hill County and a local Ford dealership before he retired in 1979. They remained in their Havre home until their health began to fail. In 2004 they moved to Missoula to be closer to several of their children. Margaret was recently admitted to a Missoula hospital, then was sent home to be cared for by her family and hospice nurses. She died peacefully at her daughter's home in Missoula on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, 2009. She was 90 years old. Margaret was baptized and confirmed a Catholic and remained loyal to her faith throughout her life. She had been an active member of St. Jude Thaddeus Catholic Church, including the Altar Society (PCCW), the Catholic Daughters, and the Secular Franciscans. While living in Missoula, she attended Christ The King parish. In their retirement years, the Mays enjoyed RV camping and were members of the Blue Horizon Good Sam Club. Margaret's hobbies were sewing and cooking. In her quiet time at home, she liked to do word puzzles. Her greatest enjoyment in life was taking care of her large, loving family. She will be deeply missed. She was preceded in death by her parents; two daughters, Rose Macchia and Gail Polglase-Stevens; one son, Robert May; one granddaughter, Jodi Polglase; one sister, Patricia Dosta; and threee brothers, Harold, Gordon and Jim Carr. Margaret is survived by her husband of 67 years, Uriel May of Missoula; three daughters, Margaret Ritter of Dearborn Heights, Mich., Judy (Manuel) Lopez of Brookings, Ore., and Denise May of Missoula; two sons, John May of Billings and Don (Kathy) May of Missoula; a son-in-law, John Macchia of Las Vegas, Nev.; a daughter-inlaw, Sharon May of Havre; one sister, Anna Tacke of Great Falls; and many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews. Cremation has been completed. Memorial services with burial of ashes will be held in Havre later this spring. Undesignated memorials will be given to the St. Jude's Catholic Church in Havre. Arrangements are by Rockman Funeral Chapel in Chester.