Mary H. "May" (McNee) Mead

Mary H. (May) Mead, 94, died July 31 at Friends Home West in Greensboro after an extended illness.

She is survived by her two children, Doug Mead of Winston-Salem, and Joanne Mead Vitelli and husband Bob of Jamestown, NC.

Other survivors are grandson Michael Vitelli and his wife Molly of Lake Lure, NC, Matt Vitelli and his wife Michelle, of Mount Pleasant, SC, along with two great-grandchildren, Mason and Mari Vitelli.

She is also survived by Glenn Davis and wife Linda, of Leesburg, Va., her favorite red-headed nephew, and Nancy Davis, of Greensboro, her favorite red-headed niece.

She was born in Scranton, Pa., the parents of first-generation Scottish immigrants, Duncan McNee and Mary Harper McNee.

She was preceded in death by her husband Duane Mead, the love of her life. They traveled extensively after retiring to Pine Knoll Shores, NC. Her favorite pastimes were golf, which included a hole-in-one of which she was very proud, bridge with her many friends and watching Tar Heel basketball.  She often said after another close UNC win, “I’m never going to watch another game. I thought I was going to have a heart attack.”  But of course the next time Dean and/or Roy’s boys took the court, she was right in front of the TV set cheering them on.

She made it to the Dean Dome once in the early 2000s to watch Carolina beat that other big-blue team – the University of Kentucky.

Another momentous occasion in her life came when her first grandchild Michael was born in 1980. Then came grandchild No. 2 when Matt was born in 1983. They were the loves of her life.

Great-grandchild No. 1, Mason Monroe Vitelli, was born in 2016, followed by great-grandchild No. 2 Mari Karson Vitelli in 2018, who was named after her. She said her goal was to live long enough to see Mari in person. Mission Accomplished.

Her travels took her to Hawaii, England, Scotland, Portugal, Israel, Scandinavia and Russia. For her 90th birthday she traveled to Costa Rica with her son Doug where they went ziplining through the jungles as monkeys surrounded their group and chattered away.  Two years later May and Doug went to Nassau for a Thanksgiving trip to watch her beloved Tar Heels play in a basketball tournament. For the record, the Heels won two and lost one.  As Roy would say, “Dadgum that Butler team.”

A celebration of life service will be held at Jamestown Presbyterian Church on Aug. 12 at 2 p.m., followed by a reception in the church hall. Anyone attending is invited to wear their best UNC attire or simply Carolina blue clothes. That would make May so happy.

In lieu of flowers memorial contributions can be made to the Jamestown Presbyterian Church/Congregational Life Ministries. The address is Jamestown Presbyterian Church, 1804 Guilford College Road, Jamestown, NC, 27282.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Mary H. "May" (McNee) Mead, please visit our floral store.