Jim was raised in Rapid City, South Dakota. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Denver in 1966 and a Master of Arts in 1968. Additionally, Jim studied at the University of Kansas from 1974-76. He taught Art History and Creative Photography at the University of Nebraska at Kearney from 1968-2006.
Jim described himself as an image-maker. “My [photographic] images are about nature, physical nature, and human nature. Often they are nothing more than mere records to be deleted later. However, there comes that moment when all the elements work together to produce an image that expresses a sense of mystery and awe and maybe even spirituality. That is the one that becomes a work of art.” Jim and the camera were one.
He was like Ralph Waldo Emerson’s transparent eyeball. “Standing on the bare ground – my head bathed by the air, and uplifted into infinite space – all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eyeball; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or parcel of God.” He was a man of integrity and simplicity, with little tolerance for hypocrisy. He was not heard to speak unkindly ~ unless it was about a Bronco or Notre Dame inept football play.
Jim was preceded in death by his parents and brother, Jack May.
He is survived by his wife, Mary Claire (Yackley) May of Bella Vista, Arkansas; daughter, Cassandra Marie Macke (Douglas) of Lincoln, Nebraska; son, Paul Matthew May (Sandy) of Bentonville, Arkansas; sister, Mary Mattern Schafer of Denver, Colorado; and four grandchildren, Alyssa, Ben, Adele, and Cohen.
Rosary is October 25, 2022, at 9:30am, at St. Stephen’s Catholic Church in Bentonville, Arkansas. Mass to follow at 10am with a traditional Irish wake held at Shredders Public House, 1889 Bella Vista Way, Bella Vista, Arkansas from 2-4pm. Inurnment at Mt. Calvary Cemetery, Rapid City, SD, at a later date.
Memorials are suggested to the Museum of Nebraska Art in Kearney, 2401 Central Ave, Kearney, NE 68847.
