William E. Mays, 79, of Adrian, Mich., died Wednesday, March 11, 1998. Mays was educated at the University of Pittsburgh and Drew University and earned a bachelor of arts degree in political science and earned master's degrees in divinity and education. His doctorate was in sociology. He also pursued postgraduate work at the University of Michigan. An ordained minister, he was a retired member of the Western Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church, serving churches in that area from 1944 to 1956. From the latter date until his retirement in 1984, he was professor and chairman of the department of sociology/anthropology at Adrian College in Adrian, Mich. For more than a decade after his retirement, Mays worked for the interest of retirees. He was president of the Lenawee Retired School Personnel, as well as the director of Region 3 of the Michigan Education Association-Retired, serving on the board of the Michigan group for a number of terms. Beginning with the 1970s and continuing to the time of his death, Mays found great joy in expressing his thoughts through poetry. He was a member of several poetry associations, most notably the Poetry Society of Michigan, and his work has appeared steadily in newspapers, journals and poetry collections. In April of 1949, in Washington, he married Mary Jean Nelan Mays, who survives. Also surviving is a son, Shane. Memorial gifts may be made to First United Methodist Church of Adrian, Mich., or the Mays Scholarship Fund at Adrian College. Copyright ©1998 Observer Publishing Co.Last updated Friday, March 13, 1998William E. Mays
Retired Methodist minister
He was born in Pittsburgh, a son of E. Lewis and Hildagarde Egli Mays.