Stephanie Middleton May

Stephanie Middleton May, Sculptor, Pianist, Activist, Writer, Raconteur. "She was the first to complain." (what she always said she would want for an epitaph.) Born New York, April 16, 1927. Died Margaree Harbour, Nova Scotia, Canada, peacefully, unexpectedly, at home on Saturday (August 23, 2003). Pre-deceased by parents, Thomas Hazlehurst Middleton of Charleston, SC, and Ruth Vincent Stephens of Wales and Ohio. Survived by loving husband of fifty five years, John Middleton May of Margaree Harbour; brother, Thomas Hazlehurst Middleton (Jeannie Middleton) of Los Angeles. Dearly missed by son, Geoffrey Middleton May and his wife, Rebecca-Lynne MacDonald-May of Margaree Harbour and grandson, Andrew Charles MacDonald of Ottawa, and daughter Elizabeth Evans May and granddaughter Victoria Cate May Burton of New Edinburgh, Ottawa. Stephanie May had a rich, rewarding and exciting life. As a young woman, she was a competitive figure skater. A long-time resident of Hartford, in the 1950s and 1960s, she became a leader in the civil rights and peace movement. With 17 Nobel Laureates, including Bertrand Russell and Linus Pauling, she sued the governments of the U.S., U.K. and U.S.S.R. to stop atmospheric nuclear weapons testing. With Norman Cousins, she was a founding member of the Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy. She addressed 100,000 people at the 1961 Aldermaston March rally in Trafalgar Square and, later, went on a six day hunger strike to oppose Soviet nuclear testing, drawing international media attention. Stephanie May worked with the Hartford Council of Churches to advance civil rights, social justice and urban renewal. Opposing the war in Vietnam, she helped found Dissenting Democrats, leading to the challenge by Senator Eugene McCarthy to Lyndon Johnson's presidency. Her work for peace candidates led to Pres. Richard Nixon including her name on his infamous "Enemies List." She was an accomplished portrait sculptor, having been urged to study sculpture by Eleanor Roosevelt. She was also a professional pianist. In 1973, the family moved to Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia and Stephanie May applied her considerable talents and energy to establishing Schooner Village, a restaurant and gift shop on the Cabot Trail, where she played piano on board the Schooner Restaurant. Sadly, the business is no more, as it was demolished last year to make way for a new bridge. She also worked on environmental causes in Nova Scotia, sacrificing retirement acreage over-looking the Bras D'Or Lake to Scott Paper in a court case against the use of Agent Orange. A service to celebrate her life and praise the glory of God in whose hands she now rejoices will be held on Thursday, August 28 at 2 p.m. at the Calvin United Church in Margaree Harbour. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Sierra Club of Canada, 412-1 Nicholas St., Ottawa, K1N 7B7, Canada would be much appreciated.