Obituary of Wilfred May

Wilfred May was known to most people in Stratton and surrounding areas affectionately as Willie, but he was and always will be Wilfred, his given name, to his mother Salome. Wilfred Nicholas May was born on August 31, 1923 in Colwich, Kansas. He departed this life on September 1, 2010 in Burlington, Colorado at the age of 87 years and 1 day. He was the oldest of eight children born to Ben and Salome May. Willie attended grade school at Sacred Heart School in Colwich, Kansas and later high school in Andale, Kansas, graduating in 1941. A few years after graduating from high school, Willie was drafted into the United States Army. He served his country in the Army serving in the Pacific theatre during World War II, and he was preparing for the invasion of Japan when World War II ended. Willie left the Army in 1946. He began farming and ranching south of Stratton, Colorado in 1947 with his brother Jim and continued farming, ranching, and raising a variety of crops, including wheat, corn and alfalfa. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus and the American Legion. Willie was a great patriot and never missed a Memorial Day ceremony honoring our veterans at the Kirk and Stratton cemeteries. He was a quiet, kind and gentle man, and he was generally calm and not easily excited. It was once said that if his house were on fire, the first thing he would probably do is get out a catalog and order a water bucket! He spoke kindly of all, and swear words were not part of his vocabulary. Once when a local person said that they would not eat hamburger for fear of getting mad cow disease, Willie said he thought he already had it! Wilfred was baptized a Catholic and remained a very devout Catholic his entire life. He served his Church as a Eucharistic Minister and almost always attended daily mass after his retirement. He helped celebrate the 100th anniversary of St. Charles Church in Stratton just two weeks ago. In his spare time, Willie enjoyed golf, bowling, church activities and family events. He enjoyed getting together with family, and you needed world record speed if you wanted to try and beat Willie to the check when the family was out as a group. Many family meals were accompanied by a great bottle of wine from him. Willie was an avid golfer and often attended Knights of Columbus Tournaments all over the United States and Canada with his brother Jim and friends Con Jostes and Frankie and Donna Simon. In between planting, harvest, feeding cattle, and a myriad of other farm chores, Willie found time to travel to many great places in the United States and abroad, including Alaska, Hawaii, Las Vegas, Branson, Canada, Rome, New Zealand and China. Although Willie was single with no kids, he was an ardent supporter of Stratton High School. You often saw Willie in the stands at Stratton High School on Friday and Saturday providing support to local youth. In retirement, he was a daily member of Stratton Morning Coffee Club, which usually meets at the Golden Prairie Inn. He also golfed more and enjoyed several trips with family and friends after he retired. He was preceded in death by his parents, Ben and Salome May, and his sister Dolores Kosiara. He is survived by five brothers, Jim and wife Carmie May and Richard and wife Elsie May (Stratton, Colorado), Ben and wife Judy May and Gerald and wife Barbara May (Denver, Colorado), and Donald May (Colwich, Kansas), sister Dorothy and husband Everett Daves (Topeka, Kansas), brother-in-law Sam Kosiara (Englewood, Colorado), and a host of nieces, nephews, coffee shop golfing buddies, and friends. We will remember him as a devout Catholic, a great patriot, and a good man that was a quiet inspiration to all.