Obituary of Reinhard May

Reinhard May, age 80, of Stratford, passed away on Saturday, April 10, 2021 at St. Vincent's Medical Center. He was the beloved husband of Gretchen Kiphuth May. Born in Halle, Germany on October 15, 1940, he was a son of the late Willie and Lena Schneider May and was a longtime resident of Stratford.

Reinhard was born into and survived WWII, and later escaped communist East Germany in the early 1960's by "borrowing" an airplane from the East German air guard. He learned to fly at a young age, and was an avid private pilot his entire life. He also apprenticed to be a machinist and mechanical engineer in Germany, skills which he brought to the US when he emigrated. He had a decades-long career building and repairing complex machines, and as his friends and family can attest, he was able to repair anything.

In addition to his beloved wife Gretchen of 42 years, he is survived by a son, Kevin May and his wife Juliette of Tucson, AZ and a daughter, Robin Gonzalez and her husband Jay of Stratford, his cherished grandchildren, Lilyia May and Jeremy and Joshua Gonzalez and a sister, Ursula Muller of Halle, Germany, as well as many nieces and nephews and his dear friend, Ormond Williams. He was predeceased by a sister, Irmtraut Dalchow of Halle, Germany, as well as Robin's mother-in-law Kathy Gonzalez, 11 years ago to the day.

A funeral service will take place on Wednesday, April 14, 2021 at 11:30 am in the Abriola Parkview Funeral Home, 419 White Plains Road, Trumbull. Interment will follow in Mountain Grove Cemetery, Easton. A walk-through visitation will take place on Wednesday morning from 10:00 – 11:30 am, visitors are asked to wear masks and social distance as they walk through, pay their respects, and exit without lingering to ensure all guests can come through the building.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the AOPA Air Safety Institute at AOPA.ORG.