Patricia A. (Waterman) May

Patricia A (Waterman) May, Central Square, NY July 9,1937 -May 8, 2023

Predeceased by the love of her life, Martin E. May and longtime companion of 26 years, Francis Johnson, her parents Thomas W. and Irene M. Waterman, her sisters Marjorie Winks and Judith McCloat, and her grandson Christopher W. May.

Patricia is survived by: Children- Edward (Maryellen) May of Lawton OK,; Robin (Stephen Marino) Williams of Exeter, PA.; Deborah (Andrew Marshall) Faust of DeRuyter, NY,; and Sherri (Ernest)Boynton of Hastings NY. Son-in-Law Wayne Faust of Camillus, NY. Siblings - Shirley Foti; Nancy (Edward) Ferguson; Thomas (Thelma) Waterman; and Beverly (Stephen) Crim. She had 12 grandchildren, 17 great grandchildren and 3 great-great grandchildren. Also, numerous nieces, nephews, extended family, and friends. She was many things to many people. She was a wife, mother, sister, aunt, grandmother, great grandmother, and great- great grandmother.

She lived her life the way she wanted to and followed her own set of rules. And even though she lived the way she wanted to, she was always ready and willing to ensure other people followed her rules and advice and they also lived her way. Some of her favorite life rules were as follows: Always wear panty hose. But only the good kind that don’t run, even if you fall off a bike. Always be a lady. Your dress should go below your knees and always have a sweater handy. You never fold down the page of a book and if you borrowed a book, you better return it. Every meal should have a garden salad, with Italian dressing, potatoes and a meat. If there’s a John Wayne movie on, you must watch it because he’s very handsome. If you pass an ice cream stand, you have to stop. If there’s a lemon dessert, she gets the first piece and never pass up a half-moon cookie. Lilac trees are to be enjoyed and carnation flowers are the best. If you’re at the grocery store, you should always buy yourself a fresh bouquet. Also, at the grocery store you should wander up and down every aisle in case you miss something you might need. If someone says a bad word (and we all know what word that is) you should hit them with your slipper. It’s okay to hold a grudge, the longer the better. And never ever go around birds because birds have feathers and feathers are terrifying. Pat enjoyed sports, but only sports that her children and grandchildren enjoyed. If someone she loved was at a sporting event, she was watching at home- hoping to catch a glimpse of them on tv. She never missed a cow show at the county fair, and she loved to hear about all her grandchildren’s accomplishments. She was absolutely tickled pink and loved to brag about being the first to ride in her grandson’s rebuilt truck. She told everyone who would listen that she was the first passenger in what used to be a pile of metal. Pat always waited until the last minute to ask her kids for a dinner run, just as they were about to leave. She most likely did this to extend visits just a little bit longer. But then she took her sweet time trying to decide what she wanted to eat. Don’t ever ask her to get a sub from Jrecks but you could always count on her to get a taco supreme from Taco Bell. Pat loved her road trips and has visited just about every diner in New York State. She lived a very full life and travelled to many places- Florida, California, Pennsylvania, Alaska-and nearly every state in the US, Canada and Mexico and even though it was always requested of her, she never once brought home an elephant for her (favorite)granddaughter. All her grandchildren liked to say they were her favorite and she would always laugh and roll her eyes. As she aged and couldn’t travel as much, she lived vicariously through her loved one's travels. She loved to have souvenirs brought back to her. And if you got lost, you could call her, and she’d pull out a road map and tell you where to go. Pat spent the last week of her life filled with visits from loved ones. She ate her favorite foods, reminisced her favorite stories and got in some last orders to her family.

She passed away peacefully at home, just the way she wanted to. Not that anyone expected her to do anything different

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