May Harriet Pendergrass
1969 - 2019
Obituary
May Harriet Lingwood Osburn Pendergrass
May Harriet Lingwood was born on a farm in Southwest Seattle in 1923. After WWII, May married her Highline Highschool sweetheart, J.D. Paul Osburn, who had served in the Navy. They had 2 children, Paul Lewis Osburn and Jean Diane Osburn. In 1962, J.D. died from complications to ulcerated colitis. May went to work as a preschool teacher and took classes at Seattle community College and eventually graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in Early Childhood Education. She then went to work as an instructor at Central Seattle Community College.
In 1971, May married Walter Pendergrass, a Presbyterian Minister. From 1975 to 1985, while attending Beacon Hill Presbyterian Church, May helped resettle over 150 Vietnamese and Cambodian refugees. This led to her working at Refugee Womens Alliance, teaching refugee women how to care for their children and adapt to American values. In the 1980’s, the Pendergrass household grew as they took in May’s father, Walt’s mother, an Ethiopian mother and her young daughter. Walt died in 2011 from lung cancer and Ghennett and Kidan continued living with May until she moved into Merrill Gardens in Ballard. In 2018, May moved in with her daughter Jean where they had a happy and peaceful life until May passed away on September 18, 2919 at the age of 96.
None of this information is correct. Sad.