Calvin Dean May, 62, of Orange, Texas was received into the arms of our Heavenly Father on June 25, 2010.
A memorial gathering will be 5:00 - 8:00 p.m., Tuesday, June 29, 2010, at Claybar Funeral Home Chapel in Orange. Cremation will follow under the direction of Claybar Haven of Rest Crematory in Bridge City.
Dean was born on December 15, 1947, in West Monroe, Louisiana to David W. May and Annette Moudy Vidalier. He went to school at Lutcher Stark High School. He was a retired union welder. He retired from Local Union 290, Portland, Oregon. He also had been a member of Local Union 195, Beaumont, Texas and Local Union 62, Santa Cruz, California. He was a union member for 37 years. He served in the US Army and was stationed at Bamberg, Germany. He was a member of the Masonic Lodge in Lompoc-Santa Ynez, California, and was also a member of the Scottish Rites in Santa Barbara, California.
Dean had a lifelong love of the outdoors and was an avid fisherman. He spent many of his younger years hunting and fishing on the Sabine River with his childhood friends in Riverside. His pipefitting jobs took him and his wife, Becky, all over the United States.
He loved going to new places and meeting new people and it goes without saying that he truly never met a stranger. He had the most wonderful sense of humor and always saw the good in people. He loved his family and friends with a passion and would go out of his way to help anyone. If you were his friend, you were his friend for life.
Dean was preceded in death by his father, David W. May; his mother, Annette Vidalier; his sister, Debbie May; his nephew, David Howard May; his brothers-in-law, David and Kevin Wilson; and the mother of his daughters, Charlotte Sargent.
He is survived by his loving wife, Becky Wilson May; daughters, Wendy Hanks and Stormy Apodaca; granddaughters, Kayla Hanks, Jacie and Madison Apodaca; brother, David V. May; sister, Nada Simon and husband, Ricky; and brother, Ted Vidalier and his wife, Terry.
He is also survived by his stepfather, Murphy J. Vidalier; his mother and father-in-law, Leaortha and Scotty Wilson; aunt, Francis Trussell and her husband, Buster; his cousins and their extended families in Georgia; sister-in-law, Ginger Harrison and her husband, Michael; nieces, Christina Crutcher, Katie Lemoine, Devin Wilson, Kim Vidalier, Amber Lovitt and Carly Harrison; and nephews, Kevin and Keith Vidalier, and Ian Harrison.
He also had many extended family members in the Wilson, Chapman and Sargent families, and with his former sister-in-law, Leslie Williams and the Williams family. He was always amazed at the size of his wife's family and loved them all. There is no way that we could name all of his pipefitter brothers from across the country, but he loved them all. He had a special love for his great nephew, Drew Lovitt. They were big buddies. And his time was made especially precious, by his beloved yorkie, Buddy.
Becky would like to thank the staff at Southeast Texas Hospice. They provided such thorough care, but beyond that their compassion and dedication to their jobs is awesome. Also, big thanks to Dr. Marian Chen-Hah and Tara Breaux and their staff, and the amazing teams of doctors and caregivers at the VA Hospital in Houston.
Dean loved life and he lived his to the fullest. He will be greatly missed by family and friends.
Donations may be made to Southeast Texas Hospice, 912 West Cherry, Orange, Texas 77630 or the Humane Society of Southeast Texas, P.O. Box 1629, Beaumont, Texas, 77704.