Edie J. May obit-final draft

Edie J. May, a woman whose life turned the act of selflessness into an art, one that she created and shared with the world, died Friday morning, after being struck by a vehicle near her home. She was 43.

Edie was born March 3, 1961 in Oshkosh, Wis. to Rose (Mathe) and William Schultz. She lived most of her childhood in a tattered one bedroom house occupied by her five member family. Growing up in extreme poverty made her realize at a young age that many of the things one has in life should not be taken for granted. She noted the best Christmas of her childhood was when she followed her father to give presents to the neighbors. When she entered their house she saw that the family had no furniture and did not have heat.

After graduating from Oshkosh West High School, Edie went on to work as a waitress at several restaurants in the fox cities area.

She worked at the Arrowhead restaurant in Winneconne from 1979 to 1985. An especially poignant event at the restaurant came when a woman thanked Edie for saving her life. Edie inquired about the statement and was told that one week prior, the woman had come into the restaurant to eat one last meal before killing herself. The woman said that Edie made her laugh and helped derail her plans of suicide. Edie often noted that, that incident demonstrated that every person means something to someone.

In 1983, Edie became pregnant with twin daughters named Laura and Chrystal. After having the girls, she moved into a shabby farmhouse on Jackson Road that had cheap rent because raw sewer backed into the basement. One year later a scrawny, curly haired Danish man named Soren bought the house. She told Soren that she would help renovate the house in order to keep her rent at a low price. While the two worked side by side, scraping away old paint and finally fixing that sewer problem, they fell in love.

On July 5, 1984 the couple wed in a garden ceremony in Door County.
She wore a simple white dress and a crown of daisies.

On January 19, 1986 the couple had their first son Travis; a walloping 9 pound baby boy who grew up to be mom’s “favorite little string bean”.

In 1986, she went on to work at Evergreen Retirement Community as a dietary aid. She loved working at the community and became very good friends with the residents. She was especially close to a resident named Bernie, who after his death left her $70,000. The monetary gift was so unexpected that she decided to not keep the money and instead, created a financial-aid fund for elderly people who would like to live at the community but could not afford the cost.

From 1993 to 1995 Edie attended Martin’s School of Hair Design. After receiving her degree in cosmetology she went on to work at Cost Cutters and Blades and Shades hair salons.

In her free time Edie often styled and cut the hair of Dee, a single mother who couldn’t afford to get decent hair cuts for her family.

“Edie, I know that you are already in heaven, but I want to let you know that I’ll never forget what you did for me. You were the light in my time of darkness and I thank you,” Dee wrote in a letter to the May family. After five years in the commercial hair cutting business, Edie decided to retire from her career after having operations on both of her knees.

In the last years of her life, Edie continued to touch the lives of many. She would often take her dog, Puddles, to the local hospital to greet sick children. She also spent much of her time as a volunteer gardener at the Paine Art Center and Arboretum. When she was home, she was often found playing Party Poker and listening to her favorite musician of all time, Johnny Cash.

She will be dearly missed by her daughters, Laura May of Oshkosh, Chrystal May of San Francisco, Calif.; son Travis May of Oshkosh, and her husband Soren May. Other survivors include mother Rose Mathe; brothers Rick Schultz and Bill Schultz and sister Tina Schuhart, all of Oshkosh. She is preceded in death by her father William Schultz and nephew Jon Schultz. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Gugdan Buddhist temple of San Francisco, California. Her service will be at 2 AM at the South Park Gardens.

One might say that Edie didn’t just touch lives, she changed lives. Her selflessness and kind heart set a precedent for those who knew her. When someone once inquired about the motives of her many selfless acts, she responded, “It all pays forward; I like to think that I can make the world a better place even though I am just one person.”
Edie, thank you.