Mary Alice Fazekas-May, MD. passed away on March 22, 2020 at the age of 63, surrounded by her loving family. She is survived by her husband of 33 years Dr. Thomas May, daughter Georgianna, and parents Daniel and Pearl Fazekas of Baton Rouge. She is also survived by her sister Janice Cary (husband Jeff) of Covington and numerous nieces and nephews. Mary Alice graduated from Broadmoor High School in 1974. She attended LSU where she was a Golden Girl and a member of Phi Mu sorority. She continued her education at LSU Medical School in New Orleans. She was the first woman to be accepted into and complete the Otorhinolaryngology residency at LSU. She moved to Little Rock where she was Chief of ENT at the VA and Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. She later returned to New Orleans to teach at LSU School of Medicine and practice at the VA where she rose to Chief of Surgery. Post-Katrina, she continued her work at the VA as Chief of ENT and practiced and taught at Tulane. During her career, she educated over 100 resident physicians and innumerable students, and was awarded multiple honors, including the Otolaryngology Resident Teaching Award, the American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery’s Prestigious Honor Award, and was a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. She was recognized through multiple publications and teaching awards from residents and students. She dedicated much of her life to working to help veterans as her thanks for their service. It was her vocation, not a job. She also dedicated her life to teaching and training the new generations of surgeons so that they too could do good in the world, as she did. She was a brilliant surgeon and cared about her patients and all of the people she worked with. She served on Board of Governors for the New Orleans Opera Guild, was a member of the Mad Hatters Luncheon Committee, the Steering Committee for Tulane Summer Lyric Theatre, Bravo, NOMA Volunteer Association (including various committees), Spring Fiesta Association, and the Philanthropic Educational Organization (PEO), where she served as recording secretary and vice president. She was a member of St. Elizabeth Guild and the New Orleans Garden Club, and was a member of the Krewe of Iris. Mary Alice traveled the world with Georgianna and Tom, and the three were incredibly close. She was a devout member of St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church, where she was a previous elder and Sunday school teacher. She is described as the strongest woman I knew, and was compassionate, fun-loving, feisty, accepting, mischievous, creative, warm and had a great sense of humor. A Memorial Service will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations to: American Cancer Society, New Orleans Mission, Second Harvest, American Heart Association. An online guestbook is available at www.gracenorthshore.com.
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