Mr. May was born on August 5, 1939 in Granville, Pennsylvania. He moved his family to Palm Beach County, Florida in 1971. He loved Palm Beach County and all of the sunny, warm weather it brought year round. He loved the sunshine, the colorful flowers, and the endless beautiful water views. It is hard to imagine that he was born on a farm and grew up in the back-hills of Pennsylvania since he thrived in the tropical, South Florida setting.
Upon arriving in Florida, Mr. May supported his family by doing private duty home care on Palm Beach Island. He worked daytime hours building the family business while also working overnight shifts caring for his patients. In April of 1974, he purchased his first property to begin housing the elderly. The retirement home business was born. He expanded his vision and continued purchasing properties to house retirees as he and his wife Helen worked endlessly to grow the business. Over the years, the retirement home evolved to serving individuals with mental illness. Mr. May held those with mental difficulties near and dear to his heart. He worked closely with several local agencies and was the go-to contact for the most challenging people to house. He provided them with a safe room to sleep, three meals each day, and laundry services, all while taking very little money. His business still operates today and continues to serve the mental health community.
In addition to the group home business, Mr. May continued his entrepreneurial endeavors by expanding his dreams of property ownership. He was driven to succeed at all costs. For many decades, Mr. May acquired housing which came to serve the Palm Beach County residents most in need. He was Mr. Bob to all of them; Mr. Bob who gave them a chance to have a roof over their heads despite having very little money and resources. In some cases, he would even pay for their utilities. This type of stewardship was not an easy venture as it came with long hours, lots of pitfalls, tremendous losses, and an incredible amount of stress which took a toll on his health over the years. That didn’t seem to matter much because Mr. May continued helping the most vulnerable in this way right up until his last breath. It was his way of giving back for the good fortune he had been shown, his way of doing the work of God. The underserved housing and mental health communities looked up to Mr. May in ways not fully understood unless one would be in that situation. He was a good friend and like a father to so many of those he helped.
Mr. May was preceded in death by his father, Martin May, his beloved mother, Lucy Shoemaker May; sister Benita Hawthorne (Dent Hawthorne); and his sister Marcella Hyde-Smith (John Hyde; Albert Smith).
He is survived by his brother James (Jimmy) Shoemaker; son Bryan L. May (Christine); son Robert L. May (Leisha), son Scott M. May; daughter Valerie E. Morse; and daughter Lisa May Klein (Jeffrey); Grandchildren Nicholas May, Erin May, Miranda May, Robert May Jr., Joel McLellan, Nichole May-Jeanite, Bradlee May, Brandon May, Corey May, Adam Rivera, Megan Klein, Piper Klein, and Cooper Klein; great grandchildren Clayton Mulvaney, Haley May, Leiane May, Bryson May, Amber McLellan, Ryan McLellan, Cailey McLellan, Murielle Jeanite, Amaya Jeanite, Jude Pickett, Ben Rivera, Julien Rivera; niece Linda Hawthorne Henry; nephews Keith Shoemaker and Dwight Shoemaker; great nieces Krista Campbell Roth, Stacey Depew Sickler, and Melissa Abbott.
We always found it fascinating that Bob still kept in contact with his schoolmates in Pennsylvania. He was affectionately known as Bobby to them. He loved writing letters and chatting on the phone for hours on end with his cousins, friends, and classmates.
Mr. May will surely be missed by all he connected with along his journey. He was a mentor to many who longed to appreciate his unique vision and drive to be successful. Countless people have shared that Bob changed the trajectory of their lives by his ability to show them an “out of the box” perspective. He was truly passionate about his work!
Dad, your children will miss you greatly. We appreciate all that you have taught us in life, your solicited and unsolicited advice, your “two cents” as you called it, your examples of how to be successful by being a hard worker and pushing yourself to see the unlimited potential in everything, and certainly your quirky and frugal ways that we have HUNDREDS of stories to remember you by, share, and laugh about. You ingrained in us the love for laughing! We sure did have tons and tons of times where we laughed so hard that we had tears running down our faces. Sometimes, it was in the most inappropriate of places. Thank you for giving us your hearty sense of humor because we ALL have it! You were definitely a driven force, one to be reckoned with, a complex human being, but one that sacrificed so much and never gave up on the dream of having more. Rest peacefully, Dad. We love you.
Bob’s ashes will be in their final resting place at Windfall Cemetery in Granville Summit, Pennsylvania in the coming months. A church service will be arranged at the Granville Center Church of Christ per his wishes.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Arms of Hope in Lake Worth. 561-619-9107