Joe C. May

Mr. Joe Coleman May, 94, of Evans, Georgia, entered into rest on Wednesday, December 12, 2007 at home.

Memorial services were held at 2 p.m. on December 17 at Brandon Wilde in Evans. He donated his body to the Medical College of Georgia.

Mr. May was born to Mabel Groves May and Dr. Ellis Roberts May in Lincolnton on May 13, 1913. He graduated from The Citadel in 1934 with a BS degree in Civil Engineering. He soon began work as the engineer for a C.C.C. camp in South Carolina, transferring to Georgia in 1940.

He married Pauline Bryan of Riddleville, Ga. in September 1941, ten days before he entered the Army as a 1st Lieutenant and shortly before World War II started. During the war years, he held a number of stateside assignments. At the University of Connecticut in Storrs, he taught military to ROTC students. He became 2nd in command of a newly activated Army Specialized Training Unit at Northeastern University in Boston. Later, he was given command of an infantry company in Camp Blanding, Fla. At Camp Maxey, Texas, he was in command of a newly activated company of infantry. When the war ended in August of 1945, Mr. May was on his way to the Phillipines, to participate in the invasion of Japan. He was released from active duty in January 1946 as a Major and later retired from the Army Reserves as a Lieutenant Colonel.

In May 1946, He took over the soil and water conservation work in Jenkins County, Ga. Eight years later, he was made engineer for conservation work in 26 counties in northeast Georgia. In 1957, he joined a team in Gainesville, Ga., planning watersheds in north Georgia.

He transferred to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1958, and accepted a position in Wilmington, N.C. He moved to the division headquarters in Atlanta in 1968 and retired in 1973.

One of his greatest interests was in genealogy. This led him, with the assistance of a cousin, to start Groves family reunions, beginning a tradition that brought many relatives together through the years.

Another interest of his was spending time in the North Georgia Mountains. During fourteen of their years in Atlanta, he and his wife enjoyed a second home at Sky Valley, Ga. In 2001, they left Atlanta for Brandon Wilde retirement community in Evans, Ga.

He was preceded in death by his wife; parents; and brothers, Charles, Ellis, Jr. and John.

Survivors include his loving sisters, Camille May Lane of Millen and Charlotte May of Evans; and several nieces and nephews.

Remembrances may be made to his childhood church, Lincolnton Presbyterian Church, P.O. Box 1390, Lincolnton, Ga. 30817.