E. May Lunt

1923 - 2016

E. May Lunt, 92
WINDHAM - E. May Lunt, formerly of Swett Road, Windham, passed away peacefully in her sleep on Feb. 14, 2016. May (Tottle) Griffin was born in Bath on June 2, 1923, the daughter of Aimee Irene and Ralph Griffin (the Apple Man). She spent her early childhood in Bath and South Portland. By age 8, she and her three brothers had moved to Windham where they lived on a farm on River Road. She often commented, "I fell in love with the town the minute I moved here," and often shared the memory of how school bus driver Ralph Lowell, who would be taking her to Newhall School, stopped by "the house" to meet his new young passenger and explain where she would sit and what time she'd be picked up. May graduated from Windham High School in 1942 and due to the war effort, postponed plans to study cosmetology to help run the family farm and look after a baby sister.
She married Walter E. Lunt, the love of her life, in 1945. They adopted a popular song of the time, Side By Side, as their special song, the lyrics of which fit their relationship perfectly. After marriage, May became a homemaker while also helping to establish The Windham Health Council, which provided early childhood health care to all students in the Windham schools, and later became the region's first medical equipment loan closet, which is still in operation today.
In the early 1950s, May was invited to a service at the local Quaker church, the Friends Meeting House. "I never looked back," she would say later, and devoted her life to the spiritual teachings of the Friends and to the simplicity of Quaker life. Many of the students in May's Sunday school class maintained contact with her into their adult years, a testament to her caring and devotion.
May was absolutely devoted to family and would always put aside her own needs for that of her immediate and extended family. She loved popular music and show tunes and often frequented local theater. She could miss a knock on the door because, while ironing or washing dishes, she would be singing loudly to a song on the radio. Getting to Know You, from The King and I, was one of her all-time favorites. May and Walter raised one son and a foster boy.
In the mid-1960s, empty nest syndrome had set in and May became restless. She answered an earlier calling and returned to school in her early 40s to become a cosmetologist. Upon graduating from cosmetology school, she was immediately hired as an instructor. Soon after, she became the manager of Albert's Hair Salon in North Windham. In later life, May took her hairdressing talent on the road, providing services to shut-ins all around Windham. Many residents also remember her selling berries and home-made jam at the roadside stand of her childhood home on River Road, and later on Roosevelt Trail across from the present day Tractor Supply Co.
May was predeceased by her husband, Walter, in 2009. She is survived by her son Walter N. Lunt and wife Linda of Raymond; foster son Robert Champaigne and wife Margy of Naples, brother Merrill Griffin and wife Hildegard of Novado, Calif.; sister Marcia Grenier of Dracut, Mass.; granddaughter Kelly Williams and husband Jason of Windham; granddaughter Julie Lunt-Farley and husband Jason of Windham; three great-grandchildren, the loves of her life: Morgan, Monica and Keagan Farley; many nieces and nephews; and great-nieces and -nephews.
The family wishes to express deepest gratitude to the friends and staff of Windham Residential Care for their extraordinary compassion, love and care.
A celebration of life is planned at the Windham Friends Church on Saturday, Feb. 20, at 11:30 a.m.

May often complained that flowers
made her eyes run and caused her
to sneeze. So, she once told family,
"I would really prefer donations
be made to the Windham Loan
Closet," a cause to which
she was deeply committed.