Monica Rosemary May

Monica R. May, age 67, of Gloucester, VA was born to Eternal Life on July 12, 2018. A native of Richmond Hill, NY, she was the daughter of the late William and Rosemary May of Brooklyn, NY. She was the beloved sister of Eric (Danielle) of Glen Allen, VA and Alan (Deanne) of Yonkers, NY and aunt to five: Christopher Matthew (Kristy) and Claudine Michelle (Laughton Nuckols), of Glen Allen, VA and William Martin, Gillian Eileen and Shannon Rose, all of Yonkers, NY. She was never married.

Growing up in Richmond Hill, NY, Monica attended Our Lady of Perpetual Help School and St. Michael High School in Brooklyn, NY.

At an early age, Monica was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy (CP).

After her graduation from high school, she attended the United Cerebral Palsy rehabilitation center, where she found a job at TriCare Ambulette Company in Jamaica, Queens. There she worked for several years, until the business closed. Although she tried, Monica could not find another job, and eventually gave up the search. She never worked again, and remained at home with her father & mother.

Monica was a member of the CYO women’s bowling league at Americana Lanes in Ozone Park, NY. In spite of the challenges of CP, she bowled for several years with her mother and her then future sister in-law, Danielle. She and her mother shared the job of secretary of the league for many years, even after she could not continue to bowl.

She moved with her mother to Williamsburg, VA in 1984 to be near Eric, Danielle, Chris and Claudine. There she became a member of St. Bede Catholic Church, and helped her mother with a number of volunteer tasks for various ministries. She again assisted her mother as the secretary of Sunshine Girls Bowling League.

As years passed, Monica’s ability to walk became increasingly difficult, and she progressed from leg braces to a cane, a walker and finally, a power chair. She was prone to falling, and over time, calls to the rescue squad to help her up, became too numerous. Social Services intervened, and Monica was moved to a nursing home in September 2006 at the age of 55. A year later, she became a resident at the Walter Reed Convalescence & Rehabilitation Center in Gloucester, VA, where she spent the remainder of her life.

She became a member of Saint Therese Catholic Church in Gloucester, VA, where she made friends with many of the Eucharistic Ministers who regularly visited and brought her communion.

A Funeral Mass will be held at Saint Michael Catholic Church (4491 Springfield Rd., Glen Allen) on Saturday, August 4 at 10:00 AM. There will be time for visitation with her family at 9:00 AM, and a reception following the Mass in the parish hall. Interment will be at St. John’s Cemetery, in Queens, NY at a later date. There will also be memorial Masses at Saint Therese Catholic Church in Gloucester, VA on August 6 at 11:00 AM, with a reception to follow, and at the Monastery Church of the Sacred Heart, Shonnard Place, Yonkers, NY, on Saturday, September 22 at noon, also with a reception to follow.