Betty Lou May

Mrs. Betty Lou MayFuneral service for Mrs. Betty Lou Himel May, 86, will be held at 10:00AM, Saturday, November 21, 2015, at St. Paschal’s Catholic Church in West Monroe, LA with Rev. Adrian Fischer officiating. Interment will follow in Mulhearn Memorial Park Cemetery in Monroe, LA, under the direction of Mulhearn Funeral Home, West Monroe. Mrs. May passed away on November 15, 2015, in Mandeville, LA. She was born on December 2, 1928 in Rayville, LA to Helen Cook Himel and Lawrence Himel, Sr. After receiving her bachelor’s degree in education from Northeast Louisiana State College, she began teaching at Woodlawn Elementary School, where she loved every day that she taught. She retired after 31 years but continued to substitute teach almost every day for 15 years. She was a member of the North Monroe-Lakeshore Lions Club where she held numerous offices and volunteered many hours of service, especially for the Louisiana Lions Eye Foundation securing eyeglasses for needy students. Betty Lou was a member of St. Paschal’s Catholic Church, where she served as Eucharistic minister and cooked for Meals on Wheels. Her love of teaching and service was recognized many times throughout the years including Woodlawn Elementary Teacher of the Year and North Monroe Lakeshore Lion of the Year. Mrs. May was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 48 years, Bernard May and her son-in-law, Bill Blanchard. She will be remembered for her faith, generosity, and good cooking, her big personality and southern drawl, her love of teaching and her students, her love of her family, especially her grandbabies, her colorful fashion and bling, and of course, her red fingernails! Survivors include daughter, Mary Helen Blanchard of Mandeville, LA; son, Larry May and wife Carol May of Siloam Springs, AR; five grandchildren, Korey Blanchard (Jennifer), Dane Blanchard, Anna Blanchard, Vicki May Thorne (Greg), Michelle May Rabinowitz (Matt); ten great grandchildren; sister, Billie Ware of Rayville, LA; brother, Lawrence Himel of Alexandria, LA; sister-in-law, Lena Webb of Shreveport, LA; brother-in-law, Ret. Col. Bill May and wife Carol of Mobile, AL; and a host of much loved nieces and nephews. Pallbearers will be Korey Blanchard, Dane Blanchard, Jerry Ware, Bobby Himel, Greg Thorne, and Matt Rabinowitz. Honorary pallbearers are members of Greater Ouachita Lions Club.Visitation will be from 5:00PM until 8:00PM, Friday, November 20, 2015, with a Vigil Wake service at 6:00PM at Mulhearn Funeral Home, West Monroe.The family wishes to extend a special thanks to Brookdale Senior Living staff in Mandeville, LA who gave such excellent and loving care to Mrs. May for the last 4 years and St. Joseph Hospice for their care and support during her last months and days. Very special thanks to family and friends including Francis Black and so many others.Memorials may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, 3445 N. Causeway Blvd, Suite 902, Metairie, LA 70002 in memory of Betty Lou May, Brookdale Mandeville Team or The Louisiana Lions Eye Foundation.Online Registry/Condolences: www.mulhearnfuneralhome.com