A message from
Our President:
It is with great sadness that I have to
inform the membership that our past leader,
Harold May passed away in his sleep August 28,
2006. Harold's daughter, Kathy, told me that
Harold had a good day Monday and it did not seem
to be any different than past days, then he
napped in the afternoon and evening as usual and
passed away peacefully while sleeping. I do not
think I can put into words how I feel about
Harold. The bottom line is I do not know if he
founded Eastern States, but he definitely turned
it into the best specialty club out there and
opened his home up twice a year to everyone and
created a rabbit show that will never be
matched. I am embarrassed to call this weekend a
rabbit show, we all know it is much more than
that, more like a family reunion with a rabbit
show while we are together. Most of us have our
families wondering why we put the Cortland shows
ahead of family functions at times because we
cannot miss a Cortland weekend. Harold's family
knows how much this weekend meant to him, as
they have delayed his funeral until after the
Classic weekend because they know he would want
the show to go on. So we all need to find a way
to pick our heads up, go to Cortland and have a
celebration in honor of Harold, that is the way
he would want it. Saturday evening after the
meal we will have a tribute to Harold before the
band performs. If you have any photos of Harold
bring them to Cortland and we will put together
a poster board of these photos.
Wayne Bechdel
President, Eastern States Flemish Giant Rabbit
Breeders
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Our Club mourns
the passing
of our
Former President, Long time Outstanding Breeder, Member, and Mentor
Harold May
of Windwood,
Cortland, New York
He passed in his
sleep the evening of August 28, 2006
The Family of
Harold wish it to be known that the National Show scheduled for
April 2007, WILL be held as scheduled. The family believes out
of respect for Harold, this is what he would have wanted .
Our Condolences to Harold's
Family and Friends.
May his memory and that of
all his accomplishments
comfort his family. His Friends will sorely miss him and his
advice and counsel.
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This year's
was a complete success!
Held September 9 & 10, 2006 at Windwood in
Cortland, New York, it was
judged by Gene and Sue Gillispie from Missouri.
Congratulations to Dave Parks of Michigan
for winning Best of Breed BOTH days with his
Senior Sandy Doe,
And Congratulations to Ben Canino of Connecticut
for winning Best Opposite BOTH days with his
Intermediate Fawn Bucks!
Way to go guys!
A very lovely Memorial Service
for Harold May was held Saturday evening after dinner. Photo's
of Harold were on display and his daughter, Kathy spoke.
Friends and family shared their thoughts and memories. We all
felt Harold's presence and were touched by the sadness.
We thank Harold's family for their
hospitality and kindness in their time of sorrow. All of us mourn the
passing of Harold and hope the memories held by his family and friends will
give them comfort.
The Martin's were able to attend Harold's funeral and
wanted to report, since so many of his rabbit friends couldn't attend.
"The drive to Boston, NY is less than an hour from our
place. It's a very small and quaint town, just south of Buffalo where Harold
was raised, and lived until the year after Kathy & Rich were married in
1968. The funeral was small, maybe 30 people. Harold's brother and all his
children were there, including Kathy and Rich's children and grand-children,
David and Danielle. It was a lovely service, and a celebration of his
life. The flowers from the Eastern States were beautiful, as well as all the
other flowers from his rabbit friends. Roger Dent and Wayne Betchdel were
pall bearers. Frank Welsh and his daughter were also there. Harold was
buried beside his wife in St. John the Baptist Cemetery, just up the
hill. After the service, a buffet lunch was served in the country restaurant
just down the road. We were very glad that we were able to attend, however,
the memorial service at Cortland was every bit as meaningful, and where
Harold would have wanted us to gather and pay tribute to him. He was a
wonderful man and he will be truly missed by all of us, who knew him.
Your friend's from Canada,
Tony & Colleen Martin"
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