Dr. Floyd E. May
October 15, 2016
Date of Service: October 18, 2016
Entombment Location: Mausoleum of Peace
Dr. Floyd Earl May, 89, of Elizabethton, passed away peacefully with his family by his side, on Saturday, October 15, 2016, at his home. He was the son of the late Roby Dewitt and Leila Bowers May and was born in Johnson County, though he lived most of his life in Carter County, TN. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his first wife, Dr. Joyce May, on December 7, 2002 and his second wife, Lou Heaton Davidson May in 2014; three brothers, Dr. Joe May, Roby May, Riley May; two sisters, Violet Dewitt and Rosalie Merritt.
Dr. May was a veteran of the United States Navy having served during WWII. He was a graduate of East Tennessee State University where he received a degree in chemistry and a 1956 graduate of the UT College of Medicine at Memphis. He served his residency in Anesthesiology at the UT Hospital in Knoxville before returning to Elizabethton where he practiced medicine since 1957. He was a former Chief of Staff at Carter County Memorial Hospital and a member of Hunter United Methodist Church. His hobbies included genealogy, farming and spending time with his family.
Those left to cherish his memory include two daughters, Dr. Angela May-Cross, and her husband, Franklin, Kingsport; Carol Nidiffer and her husband, Jessie, Elizabethton; two sons, Dr. Grover May, Elizabethton; Dr. David May and his wife, Regina, Elizabethton; twelve grandchildren, Stephanie Maxwell, Hannah Holly, Chelsea Ross, Aaron Somers, Ryan May, Ashley May, Dawson May, Rylee May, Reagan May, Elizabeth May, Nathan May, Andrew May; eight great-grandchildren; three sisters, Hilda Collins and her husband, Herb, Elizabethton; Bertha Lou Boone, West Jefferson, NC; and Joy Bernshausen, Elizabethton; three step-children, Joy Lynn O’Neill and husband Bob of Amarillo, TX, Nancy Foutch and husband Trent of Elizabethton, and Kathy Oliver of Centreville, VA; six-step grandchildren Kyna Lynn Baldivia, Trebor O’Neill, Summer Noel O’Neill, Joseph Lynn Foutch, Lourania Madison Oliver, and Macy Lynn Oliver. Numerous nieces and nephews also survive.
A service to honor the life of Dr. May will be conducted on Monday, October 17, 2016 at 7:00 PM at the Hunter United Methodist Church with Rev. Estel Williams officiating. Eulogies will be delivered by his family and friends. The family will receive friends from 5:00 – 7:00 PM on Monday in the church prior to the service.
The Committal and Entombment service will be conducted on Tuesday, October 18, 2016 at 10:00 AM in the Mausoleum of Peace, at Happy Valley Memorial Park. Active pallbearers will be grandsons. Honorary pallbearers will be Dr. Rick Martin, Dr. Eugene Galloway, Dr. David Fenner, Dr. Jerry Gastineau, Dr. Robert Walter and Dr. Arnold Hopland. Those wishing to attend are invited to meet the family at Hunter United Methodist Church at 9:15 AM on Tuesday to go in procession to the cemetery.
The family would like to extend a heartfelt and sincere thank you to Dr. Jay Jaishankar, Dr. Jeff Farrow, Dr. Jeff Hopland, Dr. Scott Dulebon and the staff and nurses of Amedysis Hospice for the love, care and support shown to Dr. May and the family during his illness.
Those who prefer memorials in lieu of flowers may be donations to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, or Mountain States Foundation, 2335 Knob Creek Road, #101, Johnson City, TN, 37604.