March 21, 1928 - December 28, 2023
May was raised on a small farm near Grindrod, attending a two-room school in the village. Her father, Charlie Carey, enlisted in the Rocky Mountain Rangers in 1940, and for two years, May and her mother Annie worked in restaurants and farm fields as they followed him to his various postings across Canada.
When he went overseas, they returned to the Okanagan and settled in Vernon, where May enjoyed her high school years and met the love of her life, Alexander (Al) Taylor.
May attended "normal school" (teachers' college) in Vancouver, and worked as a teacher there until she married Al in 1950. Together, they lived in many different places across Canada, in the U.S., France and Germany, as Al pursued his career in the Royal Canadian Dental Corps and May raised their two children.
When May was 45, she returned to school, graduating with a Bachelor's degree in secondary education. She then taught at Albert College, Canada's oldest co-ed boarding school.
On retirement in 1983, the couple moved back to Vernon, building a log home by Swan Lake. May immediately jumped back into community life. Her "Light Slimnastics" programme was a popular fixture at the Vernon Recreation Centre for 20 years.
She branched out into teaching aerobics, aquasize, weight room programmes, line dancing, clogging and Osteofit, and soon qualified as a trainer and examiner of fitness instructors, teaching instructor training workshops for BC Parks and Recreation and for the Red Cross in the Okanagan, the Kootenays and the Yukon. She remained fit and very active into her late 80s.
In 1987/88, May chaired the Vernon organizing committee for the first B.C. Seniors' Games. She was a member of the Coldstream Lions, serving as their President from 1996 to 1997, and receiving the regional President of the Year award.
May was an early board member for Abbeyfield House, helping to get it planned, built and operational. She volunteered with the literacy program at West Vernon Elementary, the Heart and Stroke Foundation, the Friends of the Museum, the Allan Brooks Nature Centre, the Good Morning program and the Homeless Shelter. She taught ESL to new Canadians. She was also an active member of the University Women and of the Society for Open Learning and Discussion, as well as a couple of book clubs and a writers' group.
In summary, May was a remarkable woman: a tower of strength, a bundle of energy, a renowned teacher, a tireless volunteer, a caring citizen, an adventurous traveller, a loving daughter, wife, mother and grandmother.
She is lovingly remembered by her daughter Leslie (Gord Rathbone) of Banff, son James (Elizabeth Judge) of Ottawa, and grandchildren Bryant and Hilary Rathbone and Tamsen Taylor.
As she planned long ago, May's ashes will be placed in the Enderby Cliffside Cemetery, next to Al and her parents, walking distance from her childhood home.
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