John Wesley May Jr.

John Wesley May Jr. passed away May 31, 2012, in Orange Park, Florida. He was born December 29, 1914, in Newborn, Georgia. Upon graduating from high school, John joined the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps), which developed popular hiking trails in the Smoky Mountains National Park. Some of the trails he worked on included the trails at Mt. LeConte, the Chimneys, and Roaring Fork. While attending college at the University of Tennessee, for chemical engineering, he was drafted in 1942 into the U.S. Army, where he served during World War II as a paratrooper, with the 876th Airborne Engineers. John left for war aboard the Queen Mary and entered the European Theater at Omaha Beach. During the coarse of the war, he made at least 8 jumps as a paratrooper, many of which were behind enemy lines. John mustered out of the Army at Camp Blanding, Florida at the rank of Master Sargent. Following the war, John went to Miami to visit his mother, and then off to Chicago to see his fiancé, Mary Ruth Simpson, who was serving in the U.S. Navy and stationed at Great Lakes during the war. They were married on November 23, 1945. Upon completing his Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering at the University of Tennessee, he and Mary Ruth moved to Morristown, Tennessee. Here he worked as a chemical engineer for the American Enka Corporation. While there he served as assistant technical supervisor for the rayon plant, and assistant superintendent for the nylon plant. John was an active member of his community and participated in many organizations. He was the president of the Lowland Credit Union for 20 years. He also organized and was president of the Nolichucky Chapter of East Tennessee Credit Unions. He served as the director of the Tennessee Credit Union League. John was also involved in the Boy Scouts of America and served as a Boy Scout troop leader and was on the Eagle Review Board. He was also known to be active in the Morristown Theater Guild where he acted in several plays. John was a member of All Saints Episcopal Church, where he served as a Vestry member, Senior Warden, choir member, and as a Sunday school teacher. After John retired, he worked in jewelry and lapidary, sizing rings, faceting stones, designing jewelry, and he continued with that hobby until he moved to Green Cove Springs, Florida in 2005. John also served in the V.F.W. Post 5266 Honor Guard while he lived in Morristown. John and Mary Ruth were married for 54 years, until her death in July 1999. They are survived by their daughter Mary Ruth May Kendall and her husband Russ Kendall. John had 3 grandchildren, Jeffrey Scott Kendall and his wife Julia Marie Allard Kendall, John Raymond Kendall and his wife Tara Eden Scott Kendall, and Rebecca Leigh Kendall and her fiancé Sam Dicpetris, as well as 4 great-grandchildren, Wesley Ferino, Gavin Dicpetris, Ella Anne Kendall, and Nora Grace Kendall. He is also survived by several nieces and nephews. A memorial service will be held on Monday, June 4, at 10:00am at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Green Cove Springs, Florida. Interment will be held at a family plot in Knoxville, Tennessee, next to his wife, Mary Ruth May. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, Green Cove Springs, FL or All Saints Episcopal Church, Morristown, Tennessee. Please sign the family’s online guestbook at www.broadusraines.com. Arrangements under the care of Broadus-Raines Funeral Home, 501 Spring St. Green Cove Springs, FL 32043, (904)284-4000.