May Brandon

1933 - 2020

May Brandon, aged 86, passed away peacefully in the early morning hours on January 29, 2020 at ANMC after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. She was born to Percy and Mae Blatchford on May 18, 1933 in Teller, Alaska. Her family later moved to Nome, Sitka, and Seward for her mother's treatment of tuberculosis.

May moved to Anchorage in the early 1950s. She worked at the ANS hospital before meeting and marrying Arthur Brandon on June 4, 1954, after knowing each other only 3 months. They had 4 children, Dolores, Theresa, Wanda, and Arthur II. Art and May made their home in Anchorage.

May loved to fish and pick berries. She and Art would go to Seward yearly for the Seward Silver Salmon Derby, as well as dipnet fishing in Kenai and Chitina and king salmon fishing in Homer. She also would dip for hooligan in Portage with one of her close friends, Maria. She loved berry picking and her favorite spots were on the Denali Highway and in Seward, although anywhere she could find them she'd be there. She was a fantastic baker, and the smell of her freshly baking bread would fill the air in the neighborhood. She loved making agutaq by finely grating caribou fat and whipping it by hand to a fluffy, creamy texture. She also crocheted beautiful doilies. In her later years her favorite pasttime was going to bingo, especially with her son Arthur II. She also looked forward to her weekend drives with her grandson Paul.

May is survived by her children, Dolores Ayotte (John), Theresa Donhauser (Robert), Wanda Pickett (Allan) and Arthur II; grandchildren, Paul, Melanie, Grace, Megan, and Bethany; great grandchildren Zoey and Bridget; brothers Jack and Henry "Doc"; and sister, Marjorie Gagnon, as well as many nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her husband, Arthur; parents Percy and Mae Blatchford; brothers, Tommy, Ernest, Eugene, Percy, Sidney; and sisters, Grace Neal, Dolly Peters, Gloria Peck, Christine Holmberg, and little sister Ruby.

Services for May will be at Anchorage Funeral Home & Crematory, 1800 Dare Avenue, on Sunday, February 9, 2020 at 11:00 am. A Celebration of Life potluck will follow at The Gathering Place, 4501 Diplomacy Drive in Anchorage from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm.