Margaret “Maggie” Harris May, 1947 - 2019.
It’s been several months since we lost Maggie, but frankly, we spent most of those months trying to find a “serious” picture of her, which would be fitting to go with an obituary. However, such was her personality, that no serious picture could be found. However, it is time to get this published so here it is, with a definitely un-serious, but entirely characteristic, picture. We miss Maggie every day!
Margaret Harris May was born on February 24, 1947 to William and Edith May, and died in April of this year from heart complications. Margaret is survived by her children Marnie and Matthew Copeland, grandchild Quinn Boutot, siblings Patrick and Joyce May, Jean May and Steven Foster. Nieces and nephews were William “Billy” May and Katie May, Toby and Finn May, Scott Vann, Ashley and Matt LaHaie, Madeliene La Haies and Jordan Foster.
Margaret started an in-home day care center in 1978 in Massachusetts, after moving from Salt Lake City. Although her initial motivation was to provide a safe place for her own children as well as others, she discovered a love of caring for children and founded The Tot Spot, a non profit preschool in 1988. After moving to Charlotte, North Carolina in 1998, Margaret worked in the inner city as the director of a YWCA preschool serving disadvantaged children and families.
In 2005, she moved to Nederland to be close to family. In Nederland, she began to be known as “Maggie”, and commenced a major round of volunteer work. She served on the boards of Over the Rainbow Preschool, the Nederland Area Seniors, the Nederland Library Foundation, and served as the fundraising chairperson for the Nederland Food Pantry.
Margaret was an avid reader, who was a regular at her local library. She loved music (she cherished her vinyl collection and passed on a love of bands such as the Rolling Stones to her children), holidays, and making gifts for her friends and relatives out of found objects with the help of her trusty glue gun.
She loved to cook, especially for her family, from favorite recipes handed down from her mother and grandmother. She loved travel, and the beauty of her adopted state of Colorado, which she explored in the company of her Nederland friend, Jim Elder.
Maggie was a force of nature, according to all who knew her. Her infectious laugh, insatiable curiosity about the world and her concern for the health and well being of her friends was fervent. She will be greatly missed by her family and by all of her friends in Nederland.
The family extends their appreciation to the staff at Boulder Community Hospital. Also, donations in Maggie’s name can be made to the Nederland Food Pantry, an organization where “If everybody gives a little, everyone can eat!”, a phrase that Maggie created.
To donate go to http://nederlandfoodpantry.org/
