Donald "Dudie" James May, Jr.

Donald “Dudie” James May, Jr., 58, of Red Lake died Saturday, March 8, 2014 in Red Lake.

Funeral Services will be 10:00 am Friday, March 14, 2014 at the Red Lake Humanities in Red Lake, MN with Father Jerry Rogers officiating. A wake will begin at 4 pm on Wednesday March 12th at the Red Lake Humanities Building and will continue until the time of the services on Friday under the direction of the Cease Family Funeral Home of Bemidji.

Dudie was born January 2, 1956 in Red Lake, the son of Donald May, Sr. and Rosella Hart. He grew up in Red Lake and attended school in Utah and St. John’s Prep in St. Cloud. He married Rhonda Morrison on Oct. 2, 1976 and together they raised their children and provided them a happy childhood and sense of family. Dudie believed in working hard and took pride in being able to support his family. Along with his children, he also raised 2 stepsons and a nephew. He worked as a commercial fisherman and in the logging business. He was also an electrician who opened his own business “May Electric”. At the time of his passing, he was director of Red Lake Sanitation. He also was serving on the Red Lake Tribal Council as the Red Lake Representative. He was elected to that position in 2004, 2008 and 2012. His passion was Treaty Rights, and reclaiming former Red Lake Tribal lands. His most current project was a presentation which was to be made this week on reclaiming Upper Red Lake. He always had Red Lake’s best interest at heart. He was an organizer of the Red Lake Ride for the Troops and Suicide prevention. Dudie had many friends and was known for his sense of humor and genuine personality. He will be remembered by his family as a hard worker, an intelligent person and a good father, grandfather, son and brother. His children will have good memories of their father. He enjoyed spending time visiting and laughing with Misty and her daughters. He would call to invite them for dinner and always checked on them to see if they needed anything. He was proud of his daughter Ivy, who served in the U. S. Army. Ivy and her father enjoyed hunting and fishing trips. He loved to watch Rowdy play basketball. He knew Rowdy loved basketball at a young age and had a basketball court built for him outside their family home. Ivy and Rowdy were part of a softball team “Fox Lake” which he coached. Later he also sponsored a softball team “May Electric” on which he, his children and other family members played. He also adored his granddaughters. He loved spending time with family and friends. He enjoyed music by the Rolling Stones and CCR. He was happy to experience attending a Rolling Stones concert with his children. He loved to ride his Harley and do home improvement projects.

He is survived by two daughters- Misty (Bob) Smith of Red Lake, Ivy May of Albuquerque, NM A son- Rowdy May of Red Lake two stepsons whom he helped raise- John Lussier of Red Lake and Gary Lussier of St. Paul, granddaughters – Delaney May, Korie Graves, Kynsie May, Riley Smith, Alise Sargent and Rhianna May, his mother – Rosella Hart of Red Lake brothers – Tony May, Dean May, Chris May and Rick May of Red Lake sisters – Denise (Dean) Guinn, Bonnie May, Jessica Roberts, Amanda May and Emmy May of Red Lake, numerous nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins.

He was preceded in death by his father- Donald “Gootchie” May, Sr., brother- Robin May, sister- Valarie May, grandmothers – Freida Clark, Elizabeth Jourdain, special uncle- Phillip “Peewee” Joudain, and special nephew James Barrett.

Honorary Casketbearers will be Walter Jourdain, Floyd “Buck” Jourdain, Keith Stately, Virgil Brown, Kevin Sigana, Tom May, Rusty Donnell, Jim Walker, Andy Clark, Dave Clark, Donald Graves, Jr., Leon Barrett, Becky Barrett, Don Desjarlait, Donovan May and Dean Guinn. Active Casketbearers will be Rowdy May, Robin May, Dean May, Tony May, Devin May, Dillon Taylor, Tom Sayers, Roger Johnson, Ricky Johnson, and John Lussier.