Nowata Star
126 E. Cherokee St.
Nowata, OK 74048
April 4, 2001
Permission for archiving obituaries given by Phillip Reid, Publisher

Funeral services for Lois G. May, 88, Nowata resident who died Thursday, March 29, 2001 in the Integris Bass Hospital at Enid, were held Tuesday, April 3 in the First Baptist Church in Nowata, Pastor James Armstrong, her nephew officiated. Graveside services were held that afternoon in the Arlington Memory Gardens at Midwest City under the directon of Benjamin Funeral Services of Nowata.

Lois began this life February 14, 1913 in Pawnee Rock, Kansas as the daughter of Wallace and Blanche Goatley Armstrong. She grew up in Kansas and Oklahoma. Lois graduated from Claremore High School and later from beauty school. After beauty school, Lois worked in Oklahoma City. She answered an ad in the newspaper for a beauty operator in Ryan and started her adventure.

While in Ryan, she met and married Clifton Hughes in 1938. They moved to Oklahoma City, had a daughter and bought a new house in Midwest City. In 1946, Clifton died and she was a widow with a 5 year old child and payments on a new house. Failure was not in her vocabulary and she worked as a clerk typist at Tinker Air Force Base, raised her daughter and kept her home.

In 1953, she met and later married Herman Colston, a divorced man with two daughters. They moved to an acreage east of Midwest City. Together they watched their children grow up and have children of their own. They retired from Tinker Air Force Base and raised quarter horses and barrel raced them. In 1982, Lois became a widow for the second time in her life.

She moved from the acreage into town. Since she loved music and played both the guitar and piano, it was natural for her to join a band named the CF&G's. She also like to go to the dances at the Senior Citizen Center at Moore.

Playing cards was another interest. One evening, she was invited to play cards with her friend, Rose; Rose's friend Jim and Jim's brother, Charlie "Deacon" May. She and Deacon became friends and discoved they had many things in common, such as traveling, playing cards and gardening. At the age of 75, Lois married for the third time, moving to a new town in Nowata County and a new life.

They were married for 13 years. During this time they have traveled a lot, played cards with their friends in Delaware and raised a lot of tomatoes in their big garden.

Lois was a member of the First Baptist Church in Nowata.

Survivors include her husband, "Deacon" May of the home, three daughters: Sara Ellis and her husband, A.J. of Waukomis; Margaret Worrell and her husband, Harold of Altus; Nancy Hill and her husband, Gary of Oklahoma City; Deacon's children, Ronnie May and his wife, Ilene of Nowata; Charles E. May and his wife, Margaret of Talala and Vada Jo Benton of Purcell; one brother, Don Armstrong of Eueless, Texas; six grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren; Deacon's grandchildren and great-grandchildren; many nieces and nephews, other relatives and her many friends.

Lois was preceded in death by two husbands, her parents, two brothers and one sister.