May Williams

May Williams, born on November 20, 1918 to Bernt Amundson Martinus Nesdahl and Myrtle Armina Taylor Nesdahl, went to meet her Lord and Savior on May 10, 2014. She was "Sis" to Albert, Bill, Bub, Lincoln, Jim, Dorothy, Muriel, and Alva.
She grew up in Emerado, ND, and attended school at Oakville School District. She graduated and received a scholarship to college, but gave it up because she felt her parents could not afford to send her away to school. She wanted to be a teacher.
She married Milton Owen Williams from Arvilla, ND. on July 19, 1941 shortly after the death of her father. May and Milton moved to Mason City, WA, now known as Coulee Dam, WA. in 1941. She had 4 children, Darlene born in 1941, Gene born in 1944, Elaine born in 1945 and Gary born in 1947. In 1947, May and Milton and family moved to Kennewick, WA.
She was a 4-H leader. She loved baseball and always went to the baseball games when the boys played. She worked in the concession stand at Sanders Field Ball Park. She supported her children in all their endeavors be it sports, gymnastics, music, school, 4-H, and scouts. May was a stay at home mom until her children were in high school. She went to work at Stillers (Tomllinson's) Dairy Mart. She became manager and worked for several years. Milton and May collected antiques and had a display of wagons, wagon wheels and other articles in their yard on Washington Street. It was a fun school field trip for many students who visited.
When Milton retired, they traveled on a motorcycle from Kennewick up through Canada, then on to Mass. and Washington DC and then back to Kennewick. What an adventure. They bought a home in Arizona and spent winters there and summers in Washington and ND. When Milton died in 2004, she continued to travel until she hurt her back. At that time she had to move to Washington to live with her daughter Darlene.
May loved to work outdoors, or sit on the porch in the morning with a cup of coffee watching the sun come up and the boats on the Columbia. She loved to play cards and could beat us anyone in a game of 75 or pinochle up until her last few months. She was a charter member of Sons of Norway Sol-Land Lodge 2-026 in Kennewick. She attended church at In Step Baptist church in Finley.
She was preceded in death by her parents Bert and Myrtle Nesdahl, her brothers James, William, Lincoln, Harold, Albert and her sister Dorothy Hemmer, a grandson Jeffrey Banderas and granddaughter Faith Fechner. She is survived by her sisters Elva LaFave of Centennial, Colorado and Muriel Kopecky of Devils Lake, ND: her children Darlene (Jim) Roberson of Kennewick, Gene Williams (Shirley Farr) of Haverhill, NH., Elaine (Terry) Banderas of Lincoln, CA and Gary (Laurie) Williams of Escondido, CA. May was granny to all her 12 grandchildren, Tami and Michael McCracken, Milton and Martin Haradon, Gary, Tiffany, Katie, Allison, Curtis and Christopher Williams, Julie and Derek Banderas, and 24 great grandchildren and 6 great great grandchildren. She loved each and every one of them, always worried about them up until the day she died.

Funeral services for May will be at the Arvilla Presbyterian Church in Arvilla, ND on June 19, 2014 at 2:00 p.m. Visitation will be held for one hour prior to the service in the church. Interment will be in the Arvilla Cemetery.