Henry Luther "Luke" May

Henry Luther “Luke” May, (but “Papa” to his family), age 101, died January 27, 2025, at his daughter’s home in Madison, NC surrounded by his loving family.

A funeral service will be held at 2 pm on Friday, January 31, 2025 at George Brothers Funeral Service.  Burial will follow at Lakeview Memorial Park.  The family will receive friends from 1-1:45 pm at the funeral home prior to the service.

He was preceded in death by his loving wife, Mildred, of 75 years; his parents, William and Mary May, four brothers (Vance, Jake, Marvin, and John); three sisters (Mozelle East, Ruth Swaney, and Marie May); a daughter-in-law (Linda May) and a great-granddaughter (Taylor Foster).

He leaves behind a daughter, Frances Moore (Glen), and four sons, Ronald May (Becky), Donald May, Phil “Skip” May (Carolyn), and Hal May (Iris).  He had ten grandchildren, nineteen great-grandchildren, and six great-great-grandchildren.

Luke and Mildred started their lives together in Guilford County NC, but with five children to care for, they knew they needed to do more to support them all.  They decided to move to Virginia, where they started farming on his brother-in-law’s farm.  After five years they moved back to NC, where he took a job with Monroe Construction Company.  There, he honed his skills as a contractor and learned everything there was to know about construction and building things with his bare hands.  He worked there for twenty six (26) years, and after a health scare, decided to retire at age 62.  After his health improved, he became the “go-to-daddy” for everyone in the family who needed any advice on building this or that.  He loved building things out of wood with his hands, and you could always find him in his shed tinkering on something.  If Mildred said “I sure wish I had this or that to make this work better”, he would have it built and operational before she could ask twice.  Most of his children and grandchildren came to him many times to ask him to build them something – from a money bank in the shape of a bunny to an addition to their homes.  Those in the family who still have something that Papa made know they have something very well built, but also that was made with love, and will cherish it forever.

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