Darrell Dean May

Darrell Dean May was born December 6th, 1943 in Salisbury, MD where his father was in the Coastguard. He went to his heavenly home February 28th, 2019 at age 75. The memorial service will be held at Horan & McConaty on Thursday, March 7th at 10 AM. He will be laid to rest at Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver at 11:30 AM to commemorate his decorated Naval career.

He is survived by his wife of 54 1/2 years Jeannette, son Jason and his girlfriend, Jeanine, daughter Amy (son-in-law Brian), and grandsons Wesley and Zachary as well as Wesley's wife, Megan and Zachary's girlfriend, Nikki.

After high school graduation, he attended a technical school in Nashville where he learned many of his early skills including welding. After this he worked for McDonnel Douglas in St. Louis on the development program of the F4 Phantom Jet. His 30 year ""Mustang"" Navy career started with an enlistment in 1965 and ended with his retirement in 1994 with the rank of Lt. Commander. For those who may not know of this exclusive group, a Mustang is one who began his career as an enlisted person before being commissioned as an officer. His work in the Navy led him virtually all over the world on many different aircraft carrier deployments including the USS Enterprise, Forrestal, Roosevelt, America and John F. Kennedy. He was responsible for the mechanical viability of an entire fleet of aircraft including the F-8 Crusader, A-7 Corsair, C-130, and the S-3 Viking. His second career began in 1994 as he entered into a highly classified world of missile/ satellite defense systems. He developed many close, lifelong relationships with these colleagues.

Darrell always remained loyal and grateful to the friends that he made along the way. He was also defined by his dedication to his marriage, family, country, and his '67 Chevy hot rod.

Darrell was as giving and caring as he was hard working. His dedication and work with Evergreen Christian Church was foundational to the construction of the new building and his craftsmanship can be seen throughout even today.

Darrell was always willing to help others and fix anything broken. If he didn't have the right tool, he would make one.

He was a strong patriarch of his family, a good friend to all, a man who would give his shirt for a friend. In later years following retirement he struggled with many health issues and was unable to continue to do the things he loved to do. ""Tinkering"" was a large part of Darrell's life, losing the ability to do so was a pivotal moment in his life post-retirement and those close to him could tell he missed it dearly.

Following his burial at Fort Logan, friends are invited to share their memories of Darrell with his family at a reception at the Waterton Tavern in Roxborough. Food will be provided.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations to Evergreen Christian Church P.O. Box 427 Evergreen, CO 80437 or the Tennyson Center for Children and Families https://www.tennysoncenter.org/donate/

Memorial Service: March 7, 2019 10:00 am

Horan & McConaty - SW Denver/Lakewood
3101 S. Wadsworth Blvd.
Lakewood, CO 80227

Graveside Service: March 7, 2019 11:30 am

Fort Logan National Cemetery
3698 South Sheridan Boulevard
Denver, CO 80236
(303) 761-0117
https://www.cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/ftlogan.asp