Ronald Leo "Buzzard" May

Ronald Leo May, "Buzzard", 87, of Flintstone, Maryland, went to be with the Lord on October 15, 2025 at home. Born November 24, 1937, he was the son of the late Raymond May and Gladys (Lawrence) May. He was the last surviving member of his immediate family. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his son, Donald Bradley May; his grandson, Daniel Aaron May; his brother, Herbert May and wife Helen; his sister, Betty Adams and husband Palmer; and brothers-in-law, Gerald Schade and Joseph Byrnes.
He was a graduate of Fort Hill High School, Class of 1956. Ronald started his career at the age of 15 retrieving golf balls at the Cumberland Country Club. Under the direction of Carroll Boggs, Ronald went on to establish golf as his lifelong passion. He became a golf pro at Cumberland Country Club, Maplehurst and Andrews Airforce Base in Virginia. He was said to be one of the greatest golfers in Allegany County. Upon returning home from Virginia, Ronald was employed with PPG Industries until its closure. He went on to become the Director of the C.E.T.A. program which was a government grant program designated to assist people to obtain jobs who were unemployed due to closure of PPG, Kelly Springfield and Celanese. Many people went on to have permanent jobs from that program. Ronald was an Allegany County Commissioner from 1987 to 1990. Later on, he became the Manager of the Loyal Order of Moose, Lodge 271 until retirement. After a year or two of retirement, he took a part-time position as a Circuit Court security guard with the Allegany County Sheriff's Office.
He was a member of the Cumberland Moose, the Cumberland Outdoor Club, Flintstone Volunteer Fire Department, and was a Scottish-Rite Mason. Ronald's favorite thing was to hang out at Camp in his pavilion with family and friends. He loved to cook for everyone and the more people that showed up, the happier he was. He was famous for his Memorial Day, July 4th and Labor Day picnics and his potato salad. He was a very loving and giving soul. He helped with anything anyone asked of him and didn't know the word 'NO". He was a big kid at heart and loved having fun from Rollercoasters, Mud bogs, to riding waves in the ocean, and attending Nascar races. He was the official starter of the Flintstone Lawn Mower races. But most of all, he was devoted to his family.
Surviving him is his wife of 69 years, Donna F. (Imes) May; his daughter, Rhonda Twigg and husband Alec of Flintstone; his grandchildren, Brad Mullenax and wife Katrina of Flintstone, Vanessa Whysong and husband Greg of Fishertown, PA, and Tyler Twigg and companion Heather Snyder of Frostburg; his great-grandchildren, Blake and Mason Mullenax, Ethan Whysong and wife Alexa of Osterberg, Pa., Dylan and Brielle Whysong and Aubrey Twigg. He is also survived by his sisters-in-law, Twila Schade of Cumberland and Ardith Byrnes of Rockville; a special cousin, Sandra Wachter of Cumberland; his late son's companion, Sherrie Dever of Frostburg; several special nieces and nephews, close friends and his cat, Smokey.
Friends will be received at the Scarpelli Funeral Home, P.A., 108 Virginia Avenue, Cumberland, on Tuesday, October 21, 2025 from 2:30 to 5:30 pm. A memorial service will immediately follow at 5:30 pm with Pastor Mark Dillow officiating.
The family would like to extend their appreciation to the Hospice Team of UPMC Western Maryland.
In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Alzheimer's Association. Donations can be made in honor of Ronald by visiting: www.alz.org.