7/20/1931–11/2/2022
Carol May (Priest) Hay, age 91, passed away peacefully on November 2, 2022. Carol was born in Gaylord, Michigan, on July 20, 1931, to Ozro and Marie Priest. She was the youngest of a loving, large family with sisters Mary, Anita, Shirley, and brother Doug. The family moved to the Clinton/Britton/Macon area where she grew up. During the summer, after a year studying music at EMU, she met Alan Hay in Beulah, MI, where he had purchased Crystal Lake Resort upon his return from WWII. Carol and Alan married the following year, and the resort became their home for the first few years of marriage. That area of northern Michigan provided joy and retreat for the rest of her life. Carol and Alan raised their four children in Detroit, Howell, and Ann Arbor. They retired to a beautiful stone schoolhouse in Macon, MI, and created a home where the door was always open to welcome family and friends. Carol lived in this beloved home until March 2022, when she moved to Silver Maples in Chelsea. Carol’s greatest joys came from her love of family, friends, music, and the creation of beautiful surroundings to welcome them in. Carol was preceded in death by her cherished husband, Alan (2003), and her beloved sons, David (1952), Brian (2021), and Kevin (2022). She is survived by her daughters Beth Hay of Ann Arbor and Anita Hay (Bill Ransom) of Ann Arbor; and her grandchildren, Javan Makhmali (Alana DeRiggi) and their children, Lucia and Leonard, of Ann Arbor; Taraneh Breisacher (Nicholas) and their children, Jacob and Mikenna, of Novi; Gus Hay of Ypsilanti; and Flora Hay of San Francisco. Beth and Anita are profoundly grateful for the care given to their mother by the staff of Senior Helpers and Silver Maples of Chelsea. A memorial service was held on November 17 at the United Church of Christ in Clinton, MI, where Carol’s father once served as pastor and she lived with her family in the parsonage next door.
