Maija May KARLSONS

28 JAN 1937 - 26 SEP 2017

• BIRTH: 28 JAN 1937, Aloja, Latvia
• DEATH: 26 SEP 2017, Granger, St Joseph, IN

• MARRIAGE: 1958, Grand Haven, Ottawa, MI

INDEX

[N17710] Maija “May” McLinda
Jan. 28, 1937 - Sept. 26, 2017
GRANGER - Maija “May” Karlsons McLinda, of Granger, passed away in her home on Tuesday, September 26, 2017, at the age of 80. May was born in Latvia and immigrated to the United States when she was just 8 years old. After her family worked for two years in North Carolina to pay for their passage, they moved to Grand Haven, Michigan. There, May attended and graduated from Grand Haven High School in 1956. While working at the town soda counter, she met her true love, Stewart, and they were married in 1958. The couple then moved to South Bend, Indiana, and May worked at National Bank as a cashier for ten years. After devoting her time and love to her children during their young childhood, she went back to work as a teacher's assistant at Swanson Elementary School where she stayed for twenty years. She was preceded in death by her husband, Stewart, her parents, Arnohds and Zenta Karlsons, and her brothers, Andrejs and Martins. May leaves behind her son and daughter-in-law, Stewart and Betsy McLinda of Norfolk, Virginia, as well as her daughter, Jennifer McLinda, and Jennifer's partner, Tracey Parrish, both of Granger, Indiana. May has two beloved grandchildren, Shelby, 18, and Liam, 14, both of Norfolk, Virginia. She is also survived by her niece, Erin Von Tom of Grand Haven, Michigan, and three nephews, Kevin Kauth, Michael Kauth and Chris Kauth, all of Michigan. Visitation will be Sunday, October 1, 2017, from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. at Welsheimer Family Funeral Home North, 17033 Cleveland Road. A graveside funeral service will be held in Grand Haven, Michigan, on Monday, October 2, 2017, at 11:00 a.m. at Lake Forest Cemetery where she will be laid to rest next to her husband. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to be directed to the Center for Hospice Care, 501 Comfort Place, Mishawaka, IN 46545; or to the Shriners Hospital for Children, 2211 N. Oak Park Ave., Chicago, IL 60707. Family and friends may leave e-mail condolences at www.welsheimer.com.Published in South Bend Tribune on Sept. 29, 2017