Patricia Ann May, 55, of Fayetteville, died on September 2, 2013 in Harrison, Ark. She was born November 11, 1957 in Fayetteville, the daughter of William Richard and Ann May.
Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, September 6 at Holt Memorial Chapel in Harrison. Funeral Mass will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, September 7 at Mary Mother of God Catholic Church in Harrison. Father Jim Fanrak will officiate. Rosary prayer service will begin at 9:30 a.m. before the Mass. Burial will be in the Mary Mother of God Catholic Cemetery. Pallbearers are Michael May, Ryan May, Smyth May, Ryan Smith, Joe Smith, and Joe Koenig.
Patricia was a 1976 graduate of Harrison High School and a 1980 graduate of the University of Arkansas with a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism. In 1988 she earned a Master's Degree from Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
She was a Category Manager and Market Analyst for Church and Dwight Co. She had previously worked as a Market Analyst in the Walmart vendor community for Procter and Gamble, Clorox Company, and AC Nielsen. Before her business career, Patricia was a journalist who served as an editor and reporter for several publications. She was a reporter for the The Springdale News and the Northwest Arkansas Times in the 1980s. While she pursued her graduate studies at Northwestern, she was a reporter for American Banker in Chicago and Washington. Upon returning to Arkansas, she was a business reporter for the Arkansas Gazette in Little Rock and Fayetteville and The Morning News in Springdale. She was also executive editor of the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal. During her years working in the Walmart vendor community she continued freelance writing for the Arkansas Catholic.
Throughout her various positions in these companies, Patricia was a friend and encourager to so many people. Her circle of friends is vast. She had a unique gift that enabled her to personally encourage people to be their best and always reach to achieve their dreams. She was a member of St. Raphael's Catholic Church in Springdale, Ark.
Preceding her in death were her grandparents, William Smyth and Delcie May and Hattie Davis May, and Pascquale and Mary Agresti; uncles Ralph May and Billy Joe Smith; and a cousin, Chris Smith. Survivors include her parents, of Harrison; two brothers, Bill and wife Dee May, of Bentonville, and Robert and wife Leslie May, of Chonburi, Thailand; three nephews, Michael and wife Alyssa May, of Springdale, Ryan and wife Lacye May, of Oklahoma City, and Smyth May, of Seattle, WA; three nieces, Elizabeth May, of Bella Vista, Chloe May and Lillian May, of Chonburi, Thailand; two aunts, Marie Agresti, of Cranston, R.I.; and Margaret Dickens and her husband Ray, of Harrison; and many cousins, friends, and work colleagues.
Memorials may be made to Hospice of the Hills, 501 E. Sherman, Harrison, Ark. 72601. Condolences can be left at
www.holtchapel.com.
