William (Bill) May Jr.

William (Bill) May Jr. went on to be with his Lord and savior at 5:30 a.m. Monday, May 6, 2024, after a short battle with cancer.

Bill was born on April 4, 1959, in Defiance to William May Sr. of Van Wert and Maxine May (Johnston) of Cecil. Bill was a 1977 graduate of Van Wert High School. He would go on to work at the Van Wert County Hospital for 44 years as a custodian before making a change to Vantage Career Center for six months prior to the cancer diagnosis. 

Bill met and married his wife Wilma May (Torman) in 2003, they shared a devote love for Jesus as well as one another. Sadly, Wilma would pass away shortly later in 2004 from a battle of cancer herself. 

Bill knew not a stranger, he could talk to anyone and treated all he encountered with respect and dignity. But most importantly he would tell them about the love he had for Jesus. Bill was a devote follower of Christ and lived his life as a true testament of what the Lord has called us to do. Bill taught Sunday School, youth, vacation bible school, and would be at the church whenever the doors were open. He also had a heart to go “door knocking” to tell complete strangers of the precious gift Jesus gave us of salvation. He had previously attended Trinity Friends Church for several years, Mandale Church where he would meet his wife, and most recently was a member of Pioneer Christian Ministries.
 
Bill was a family man, always spending time with his loved ones cherishing every moment he could with them. He grew up with four brothers and they were all close to Bill. They would play football in the yard and go on to play softball together as adults. He never had children, however, would spoil his nieces and nephews and then his great nieces and great nephews as if they were his own children. Bill also loved animals, especially his dogs and horses/donkeys. He was blessed to be the father to many fur dogs throughout his years here on earth and was the owner of several equine family members. Along with loving his family, animals and Christ Jesus, Bill loved sports. He was an avid fan of the Cincinnati Reds, Cincinnati Bengals, Ohio State Buckeyes, and Minnesota Vikings. Many may not know but at one time in the 80s he would go on to an open try out with the Cincinnati Reds, he would say “That’s when I found out I wasn’t that good.” He played a lot of softball with his brothers and close friends over the years and would also go on to coach youth football and baseball for several years as well. Many would still to this day call him coach and say they looked forward to seeing him standing in the south end of Eggerss Stadium cheering on the Van Wert Cougars on Friday nights. 

After finding out about his cancer diagnosis and learning it had spread rapidly, he chose not to fight. Instead, he accepted it and began to “live like he was dying” however instead of a bucket list doing daring things, he continued to tell everyone including all his nurses, doctors, coworkers and bosses about Jesus. He would tell them he is ready to go see his Jesus. He truly had a heart that just wanted to see souls get saved and accept Jesus into their lives. 

Preceding Bill in death were his father William May Sr., mother Maxine May (Johnston) , step mother Dorothy May (Miller), wife Wilma May (Torman), brother Freeman May, and brother Roy May.
 
Surviving Bill are brothers, Mike (Joelle) May of Gautier, Mississippi, and Jeff (Tammy) May of Grover Hill; sister-in-law, Diana May of Tennessee; nieces, Natasha Boroff of Van Wert and Heather (Gregg) Bartal of Tennessee; nephews, Joshua Boroff of Van Wert, Chaise (Jalyn) May of Grover Hill, Blaise (Samantha) May of Oakwood, and Seth May of Payne; nephews-in-law Jordan (Zach) Kochert of Columbus, and Ben Kochert of St. Marys; niece- in-law, Alexandra (Hannah Roberts) Kochert of Petal, Mississippi; cousins, Dorothy Mason-Markley of Van Wert and Don Mason of Van Wert. Also surviving are many more cousins and a lot of great nieces and nephews whom he adored so much. 

Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, May 9, at Cowan and Son Funeral Home in Van Wert with Chuck Oliver and Soloman Okang officiating. Interment will follow at Cascade Cemetery in Cloverdale. Calling hours will be held from 4:30 p.m.-8 p.m.  Wednesday May 8, at the funeral home.

Preferred memorials: CHP Hospice or Van Wert Youth Baseball.

Online condolences may be expressed on the Tribute Wall at cowanfuneralhome.com.