Enterprise Reporter Homer May died on June 14, just shy of his 91st birthday.
Homer began writing for the Enterprise in 1999 and was a fixture at city board meetings in Warsaw, Lincoln and Cole Camp. He covered news stories with fairness, impartiality and honor. That was how Homer lived his life and his contribution to this newspaper and the community is immeasurable. Our office won’t be the same without Homer’s presence and wit, but he leaves a lasting legacy of excellence. To County Reporter Homer May, a very fond farewell.
James White and the Enterprise Staff
To mark his 90th birthday, Homer gave a retrospective interview to BCE Reporter Johnie J. Logue. It runs below in its entirety from the July 20, 2023 edition.
Benton County Enterprise Reporter Homer May turned 90 on Monday, July 17, 2023. He started writing for the Enterprise in 1999.
Homer, who is always quick with a witty comment said, "A major difference between a criminal investigator and a reporter is that I don't now carry a pistol and most of the people I talk with are not likely to end up in jail."
In his 24 years of practicing his craft, he has earned the respect of the Benton County community and his fellow BCE employees.
He moved to rural Warsaw in late 1985, and helped organize Warsaw Area Resource Ministry (WARM House).
May is a decorated Korea War Air Force veteran and his sixth sense once saved his aircraft.
Born in Tampa, Florida in 1933, he lived with his parents at several locations in Tampa from birth until high school. May graduated high school in about May 1951 at Florida Military Academy in St. Petersburg, FL. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in June 1951. He was an aerial gunner in Korea on a B-26 light bomber and flew 50 missions in 1952 and 1953, while stationed at Pusan Air Base.
May commented, "My pilot, a WWII retread, said once that if I ever got a bad feeling during one of our missions, I should let him know. On one night mission, we had been flying along on one course for perhaps 10 minutes. I got that 'bad feeling' and told him so. He responded by flipping our left wing up as we left our course, and an anti-aircraft round exploded where our left wing would have been if we had maintained our previous course. Didn't happen again.".
May received the Distinguished Flying Cross and a few other medals during that period. He was discharged from the Air Force at MacDill AFB, in Tampa on June 14, 1955, and was close enough to his residence to take a taxi home. He obtained about 2 years of college education at that last base through night studies.
May went on to say, "I transferred those credits to Florida Southern College, Lakeland, and graduated from that college about March 1957 with a major in Social Sciences and a minor in English. I moved to Boston, MA immediately thereafter and began working at National Shawmut Bank within a month or so, as a credit investigator. I left that employment in early 1959 and returned to Tampa, where I worked for a few months as a social worker."
Furthermore, he said, "I moved from Tampa to Panama City, FL, in late 1959, and married Audrey LeTourneur at year end. We had three children. The earliest was Hugh Douglas May, born in 1960 with a breathing problem. He lived only a few days. The second was Maren Louise May born April 3, 1961. The last was Kathryn Phyllis May, born December 10, 1965."
"I was employed in Panama City as a management analyst for the Navy Mine Defense Laboratory from late 1959 to about 1962, when I began training for the U.S. Border Patrol as a law enforcement agent stationed in Harlingen, TX, serving for several years in that capacity until being promoted to a management position in its Washington, D.C. office for a year or so, until I discovered that once I had worked in law enforcement, I was thereafter unsuited for any honest work," he said.
In approximately 1967, May returned to law enforcement as a Criminal Investigator with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Kansas City, MO.
In early 1975, he was divorced by Audrey May, and on October 10 that year, married Sharon S. Kinsley.
May was later transferred to another office in Denver, CO and lastly promoted to a one-person office in Des Moines, IA, from which he retired in June 1985.
May and his wife, Sharon had one daughter, Netanya Sue, who was born on June 26, 1985, and is now married to Jason Dart.
Congratulations, on your long life and dedication to the community, Homer! Stay safe ol' buddy!
A complete obituary for Homer D. May can be found on page 8 of this edition of the Benton County Enterprise.
