1948
Mary
2018
Mary Lee May
March 15, 1948 — March 16, 2018
Mary Lee May, of Columbia, South Carolina, passed away on March 16, 2018, one day
after her 70th birthday. Known by family and friends as “Merrily,” she was an
accomplished musician whose career spanned over 50 years and centered primarily on
the eastern seaboard from Key West, Florida north to Virginia Beach, Virginia. Born in
Chicago, Illinois, Merrily grew up in Mt. Shasta, California, spent her high school years
in Virginia Beach, and made her home in Columbia starting in the early 1970’s, where
she was a loving mother to her two children, Sierra Anne Boatwright (formerly Butler),
of Santa Barbara, California, and Benjamin James Boatwright (Sarah Wells Boatwright),
of Columbia.
Merrily is survived by her large family of siblings and grandchildren, as well as by an
extended community of friends all over the country. In addition to her two children, she
is survived by five grandchildren: John, Nicholas, Anna Grace, Elizabeth, and Maria
Butler, of Santa Barbara. Surviving siblings include Christopher Wetmore of Mt. Shasta;
Lawrence Murdoch of Winter Park, Colorado; Michael Murdoch, of Mt. Shasta; Antonia
Murdoch Friden, of Greenview, California; Petty Officer Cathy Wetmore Martin, of
Corder, Missouri; Mark Wetmore of Burgaw, North Carolina; and Gayle Wetmore Bower,
of Charleston, South Carolina. She is also survived by her loving step-mother,
Paratrooper Marilyn Boss Wetmore, of Corder, Missouri.
She is predeceased by her father, Commander Horace Orton Wetmore, Jr; mother,
Jacqueline Lenore Home Davis; step-father, Patrick Murdoch; sister Marcia Wetmore;
husband John Boyd May; and the father of her children, Benjamin Boatwright, Jr.
A Celebration of Life party was held in Columbia on March 22 and was attended by over
100 friends and family members. Merrily’s ashes will be returned to Mt. Shasta by the
family in a private observance this summer. In lieu of flowers, please honor Merrily's life by financially supporting local musicians: Attend their shows and purchase their music! Listen Local!
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Mary Lee May, please visit our flower store.
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