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Nancee May, 67, Democratic leader

Nancee Kempista May, 67, of Riverside, president of the New Jersey Federation of Democratic Women since 2003, died of cancer Saturday, Jan. 10, at Virtua Memorial Hospital in Mount Holly.

Nancee K. May
Nancee K. MayRead more

Nancee Kempista May, 67, of Riverside, president of the New Jersey Federation of Democratic Women since 2003, died of cancer Saturday, Jan. 10, at Virtua Memorial Hospital in Mount Holly.

"This is a sad loss," State Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D., Gloucester) said in a statement. "Nancee was a dynamic woman whose energy and passion were infectious.

"She was a driving force in organizing and mobilizing the Federation of Democratic Women, an organization that helped provide women throughout the state an active role in the political process."

State Democratic Chairman John Currie said in a statement that "Nancee May was a champion for women, a passionate Democrat, and a miraculous organizing force."

Currie said that "if there was a Democratic political convention, you could not only count on finding Nancee there, you would find that she was intricately involved in making it run well."

Retired Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts Jr. (D., Camden) said, "Nancee May was one of the most thoughtful and generous people I have ever met. . . . She made everyone feel special."

Her son Michael said "the three best words to describe her" were "passionate, determined, and strong."

After graduating from Riverside High School, he said, she worked for South Jersey law firms as a secretary.

In autobiographical notes, Mrs. May stated that she became the first woman on the Riverside Township committee and the first female director of public safety in Riverside, and served as the township's director of public events.

She wrote that she "brought the dormant" New Jersey federation "back to life as a thriving state chapter with more than 1,000 members," helping to attract the organization's national convention to Atlantic City later this year.

Gail Cook, president of the Burlington County chapter of the federation, said Mrs. May "was an awesome, powerful, loving woman. ... She is a woman of valor. She put everybody before herself, and was dedicated to Democratic principles and policies."

In 1987, Mrs. May was the first woman from South Jersey elected president of the New Jersey Association for Elected Women Officials.

In 1999, Jon S. Corzine named her Burlington County chair of his campaign for the U.S. Senate.

At the 2004 Democratic National Convention, she was a member of the credentials committee.

And in 2007, the New Jersey Department of Agriculture named her its legislative liaison.

Douglas H. Fisher, former state agriculture secretary, said in a news release that "I was extremely saddened by the loss of Nancee May."

"I was privileged to work side by side with her, confronting legislative issues of importance. . . . She was a great advocate for our state's agriculture."

In addition to her son, Mrs. May is survived by her mother, Florence Kempista; son Jeffrey; two sisters; and a granddaughter. Her husband, Albert, died in 2011.

A small family gathering is to be planned, with a public memorial ceremony at a later date.

Condolences may be offered to the family at Chadwick Memorial Home, 154 Webster St., Riverside, N.J. 08075, or www.chadwickmemorialhome.com.

610-313-8134 @WNaedele