Shirley Spackman May

Shirley Spackman May died on October 31, 2026. Born on October 18, 1936, in Manistee, Michigan, Shirley was the daughter of Col. Elwood Hecker Spackman and Shirley Cobean Spackman. Col. Spackman, an officer in the US Army Cavalry, and his family were stationed at army posts including Fort Riley, Kansas, and Fort Rucker, Alabama. During World War II Shirley and the family lived in Detroit, Michigan close to her grandparents until moving to Germany following the end of the war. Shirley attended high school in Vevey, Switzerland but graduated from Dothan High School in 1954. Shirley graduated from Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia in 1958 majoring in Mathematics. While attending Agnes Scott, Shirley met her future husband, Prescott D. May, Jr., who was attending Emory University Dental School. They married in 1958 at Fort McPherson in Atlanta, Georgia with the president of Agnes Scott performing the ceremony.

Following in the footsteps of her beloved father, Shirley began riding horses at six years old and continued riding until she was sixty years old. She competed in national competitions with her Morgan horses, winning numerous ribbons and trophies. She was a member of the Georgia Morgan Horse Club and the American Morgan Horse Association.

Serving the church was very important to Shirley. In the 1970s she accompanied her husband on a mission journey to Haiti, acting as his assistance in dental surgery. Later, she was the director of weddings at several churches in the Atlanta area including Roswell United Methodist Church (RUMC). Additionally, Shirley was a lay delegate of the North Georgia Methodist Conference for ten years from RUMC. Shirley also volunteered her time weekly with the children’s ministry preparing curriculum and materials for Sunday School. Shirley was an avid Bible student with Community Bible Study (CBS) as well as in-home covenant and sharing groups.

With her mathematics training, Shirley was the coordinator of records and expenses for many years in her husband’s dental practice while establishing an antique booth with a partner in Roswell.

Shirley was a gracious and gentle person who was always very genuine to anyone she met. She was a devoted wife to her husband and mother to her three children. She loved belonging to a Gourmet Club of eight women who met monthly to prepare unique recipes, create lovely table settings and engage in warm fellowship.

Shirley is survived by her husband of 68 years, Prescott D. May, Jr., her brother Rev. Elwood H. Spackman (Mary), her sons Prescott D. May, III (Abby) and Glenn Ashton May (Gina), her daughter Joanna May Winn (Alan) as well as her grandchildren Heather May Hatmaker (Scott), Laura May Oliphant (Aaron), Prescott D. May, IV, Ashton James May, Alexis Ann May, Colton Oakes May, Andrew Alan Winn (Alli), Lillian Anna Winn, and great grandchildren Kathryn Ivey Oliphant, Caleb Thomas Oliphant, Emilee Christine Oliphant, and Isabel Mira Hatmaker.

A memorial service will be held at Roswell United Methodist Church, 814 Mimosa Blvd. Roswell, GA 30075 on November 6, 2026, at 2 pm. Visitation in the church library will begin at 1 pm and internment will be at Greenlawn Cemetery, 958 Mansell Rd. Roswell, GA 30076.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be sent to the Shirley Spackman May Fund for Music Arts, Agnes Scott College Office of Development, 141 E. College Ave. Decatur, GA, 30030-3770.