Stephanie May, a former assistant director of alumni relations long affiliated with the Northwestern community, died of colon cancer on March 29. She was 63.
May worked at NU for 25 years at Evanston Campus locations ranging from the Block Museum of Art to the John Evans Alumni Center. University Chaplain Tim Stevens said that the 300-person attendance to her memorial service, held April 3 in Alice Millar Chapel, reflected upon her long history at NU.
“I think that spoke to the wide range of people who knew her throughout the years,” Stevens said. “There were a lot of people who were parts of the university community who knew her in various facets of her work.”
Catherine Stembridge, who worked with May for several years at the Northwestern Alumni Association, said May’s lengthy experience with the university allowed May to competently take on a variety of jobs.
“Because she’d been working for NU for so many years, whatever the position she held, she brought a sense of understanding of the university community,” said Stembridge, now NU’s associated vice president for alumni relations and development.
Stembridge said May’s work at the Alumni Association focused on creating connections between alumni.
“The work that she did here really was the model for alumni programming that dealt with education and a model on which we built our program,” Stembridge said. “She really had the original vision for reaching alumni and connecting them to the Alumni Association.”
May’s gregarious nature came through in her warm professionalism and lent a unique angle to her work, according to her daughter, Mandy May.
“I think that was really what she brought, just approaching it from a very social, personal level; bringing people together and keeping them as friendly and as comfortable as possible,” she said.
Stephanie May also was president of the community Junior League and Evanston Woman’s Club. Mandy May said her mother’s personality was a valuable asset and helped her interact meaningfully with acquaintances and clients.
“I think it was just one of her greatest gifts,” Mandy May said. “She had a very vibrant, open personality, and people were just drawn to her. And she used it so that people could then interact with each other.”
Eve Jeffers, director of principal gifts in the NU’s Office of Development and Alumni Relations, said Stephanie May, who worked as a development program assistant in that office, was able to connect with many community members throughout her tenure at NU.
“She worked with so many generations of alumni and students,” Jeffers said. “She just had a way about her that made everyone feel comfortable and welcome at the university.”
Stembridge said she would miss May’s humor and enthusiasm.
“She had a quick wit, she liked to laugh and her family was extremely important to her,” Stembridge said. “She was just so full of energy. This was not a woman to sit still.”
May is survived by two children and a grandchild.
