Eileen M May

Eileen Margaret May passed from this life at the age of 92 on August 11 at the Pikes Peak Care and Rehabilitation Center in Colorado Springs. She had Alzheimer’s. Eileen was the cherished wife of the late Ernest J. May for 61 years.

Eileen was the oldest of six children born to William and Anna Beaumaster on a farm near Lourdes, Iowa. After being educated as a teacher, she taught school in a one-room schoolhouse in Iowa before working at office and retail jobs in several cities. She married Ernest J. May on February 13, 1950, in Lourdes and the couple immediately moved to Colorado Springs to make their home.

Eileen was a nurturing mother and a talented homemaker who enjoyed cooking, baking, canning, gardening, and sewing. She worked from 1966 to 1974 for District 11 at North Junior High School cafeteria. From the mid-1980s until about 2007, she helped her husband with his band, Ernie May and the VIPs, which played at senior centers, nursing homes and special events in Colorado Springs.

Eileen is survived by her three children, James of Houston, Texas; John of Colorado Springs; and Mary May (Donald) Kaniewski of Washington, D.C., as well as her sister, Mary Ann Barton of Colorado Springs, and a number of nieces and nephews. Eileen was preceded in death by her husband Ernie, who died in 2011, her brothers Tom and Francis, and her sisters Mary Elizabeth Turner and Margaret Mary Lass.

Eileen and Ernie were members of Corpus Christi Catholic Church since 1954.

Visitation for Eileen is Thursday, August 15, from 6-8pm at Swan Law Funeral Directors, 501 N. Cascade Ave. Mass will be held Friday, August 16 at 10am at Corpus Christi Catholic Church, 2318 North Cascade Ave. Burial is at Evergreen Cemetery.

The family thanks the staff in the 700/Alzheimer’s wing of the Pikes Peak Care and Rehabilitation Center for caring for Eileen over the last three years. In lieu of flowers, donations in Eileen’s memory may be made to the Alzheimer's Association of Colorado Springs or Corpus Christi Catholic Church, 2318 North Cascade Avenue, Colorado Springs, CO 80907.