Marvel May, 82, of Grinnell died September 19, 2009, at St. Francis Manor in Grinnell. A memorial service has been scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, September 23, at the Smith Funeral Home in Grinnell with Pastor Todd Follette, Grinnell First Friends Church, officiating. Honorary bearers will be Tom, Chris, Jason, Brenden, Levi, and Quentin Thompson. A private family burial will be held at Rock Creek Cemetery. Visitation will be held from 12:00 noon to 8:00 p.m. Tuesday at Smith Funeral Home and where the family will be present from 6:00 to 8:00 Tuesday evening. Memorial contributions may be directed to the Marvel May Memorial Fund. Marvel was born July 2, 1927, in Mendota, Missouri, the daughter of William and Idona Vincent Pickens. As a young girl, she moved with her family to Grinnell where she was raised and received her education. On October 3, 1944, Marvel was united in marriage to Glen L. 'Red' May, in Newburg. The couple lived in Gilman and then moved to Newburg in 1968. They later moved to Grinnell in 1998. Marvel took great pride in raising her family and taking care of her home. She began working for the Gilman School Lunch Program in 1965 and then was employed at Wenco in Grinnell for several years beginning in 1969. She later worked as a cook at Friendship Manor in Grinnell and retired in 1991. She was a member of the Grinnell First Friends Church. Marvel participated for several years in the bluegrass concerts held at the Grinnell Community Center. She loved to sing, and she and Red loved to dance. She was a great cook and her specialty was baking fried bread. She loved her coffee with cream and she taught her daughter Sydney at an early age how to make it just right so it would be ready each and every morning. Marvel was a hard worker and would work extra hours in a day so her kids could have something special at times. She loved her two grandsons and would enjoy spending the whole summer with them taking them camping and fishing and traveling throughout the state of Iowa. Survivors include her daughter, Sydney (Tom) Thompson of Searsboro; two grandsons, Chris (Sally) Thompson of Crawford, Colorado and Jason (Jennifer) Thompson of Searsboro; five great-grandchildren, Brenden, Levi, Shelby, Quentin, and Ashton; and one sister, Louise Vinnes of Fort Dodge. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband in 1999; her son, Danny L. May in 1990; and eleven siblings.