
Thomas David “Tom” May was born June 10, 1949 in the Capitol Hill General Hospital in Oklahoma City. His father, Robert, was a cleaner and spotter in dry cleaning and his mother, Erma “Louise” was a housewife.
When Tom was two years old, his dad took a job at Phillips Petroleum Company in Phillips, Texas so Tom, his brother, Donald, and his sister, Diane, with their parents found a new home in the Texas Panhandle. They would remain in Phillips, Texas until Tom graduated from high school.
Tom attended his first twelve years of school in Phillips and graduated from Phillips High School on May 26, 1967. While attending Phillips schools, he was active in the Phillips High School Concert and Marching Band, played sports and was manager of several football and basketball teams. He also enjoyed Boy Scouts and an important moment came in 1964 when he earned his Eagle Scout Award. Beginning a membership that would last the rest of his life, Tom was baptized in the Church of Christ.


But, as is the case often with young single teachers and coaches, the working environment in Gruver was less than desirable and extremely difficult. In 1975, he left Gruver to work with head coach Jimmy Duncan in the in the Vega High School system which turned out to be an amazing opportunity and very ideal working situation. While there, he worked as assistant varsity and junior high coach in football, basketball and track and well as teaching history, health and PE. Tom used to say that the old quote “when one door closes, another better door opens” was really true for him. It was a blessing that his difficult years in Tucumcari and Gruver would actually lead to a staff position with Jimmy Duncan at Vega High school. The years in Vega, he was varsity football assistant for Coach Duncan and the Vega Longhorns. He also had the position of assistant coach with Coach Potter which won the state basketball championship for Class A schools in Feb 1979. Later that spring, Coach Duncan took a head football/ athletic director’s job in Spearman, Texas. He encouraged Tom to follow him and work on his staff there. Tom was the defensive co-ordinator working directly under Coach Duncan and the situation was was a nice pay raise and good working environment during the first year, but the following year was a disappointing football season record. At that point, Coach Duncan accepted a coaching position at Groom High school. Tom was offered a coaching/teaching job in Sanford Fritch ISD with Head Coach Dwayne Jacobs an his staff. The best opportunity of all and a big pay raise, Tom would remain in Fritch as teacher, coach counselor the rest of his career.


During this time, Tom attended night and summer school classes at WTSU (now WTAMU) and began his work on a master’s degree in school counseling. He graduated form WTSU on December 22, 1989 and the next fall of August 1990 worked as high school counselor for Hale Center ISD. Then, an opportunity came for him to return to Fritch ISD as school counselor, and they gladly accepted and would continue to work as counselor at SFHS for the next seven years. In all, Tom taught, coached and counseled a total of twenty-five years in the public school system.

During the 20 years of marriage, they were members of the Church of Christ in Vega, Spearman, Hale Center, and Fritch. Returning our membership to the Fritch Church of Christ was a strong factor for them to relocate the family back to Fritch the fall of 1991. Later in 1991, Tom became a deacon for the Church and served in the position for 6 years, helping with song leading and taught numerous youth Bible classes.
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School counselor photo taken about 1994 |

Before his diagnosis with cancer, Tom spoke often of running for city council with several projects in mind, one of which would be stronger city codes for the care and management of vacant lots and abandoned building along the Fritch Highway. Tom always felt that the overgrown weeds in vacant lots and old crumbly buildings were an unsightly fire hazard and disgrace to our community.
But as life would develop, Tom was diagnosed with colon cancer metastasis to the liver and the prognosis was bad. Colon surgery on March 10, 1995 at the age of 45 was followed with chemotherapy at the Harrington Cancer Center in Amarillo.
With some success from the chemo, Tom was referred to the Cancer Therapy and Research Center in San Antonio where Tom agreed to participate in two clinical drug therapy trials. The first drug trial in October 1995, CPT-II called Irinotican was later FDA approved and the doctors in Sna Antonio thanked Tom for helping and participating in the medical research study.


Even though the four treatments were unsuccessful in completely stopping the growth of cancer, the disease was slowed down immensely with the help of thousands of friends praying and doctors working together. The initial prognosis of two to nine months of life was thrown out and Tom, with the help of prayers and doctors livened an addition two years.
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This is a street named after Tom in Fritch, Texas |
At the request of the Fritch Church, over 2000 people were praying for Tom at the Church of Christ family retreat in Red River in the summer of 1995.
For most of Tom’s struggle, the disease was not painful and he required very little pain medication. Tom’s colleagues in the Sanford Independent School systems were willing to encourage him along his battle and he continued to work in the counseling office until the Christmas break of 1996.
He passed way at the St Anthony’s hospice in Amarillo Texas on Sunday, January 26, 1997.
Services were held Tuesday, January 28, 1997 at the Fritch Church of Christ with Bob Heil, minister officiating. Burial was in Westlawn Memorial Park cemetery under the direction of Minton/Chatwell Funeral Directors of Fritch.
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