Some information from Erika LeMay Williamson, David's daughter.
David Carroll (Wilson) LeMay
David LeMay, May 29, 1944 - April 20, 2005. Born in Waltham, MA, David moved to Florida as a child.
After high school, he studied at St. Paul College in Canfield, Ohio from 1962 to 1966, and moved to North Carolina to complete his college degree at Guilford College, and a Master of Education at UNC-Chapel Hill. He married Mary Cartwright in 1968, and lived most of his adult life in North Carolina, where his parents and several brothers and sisters were living as well.
He was survived by two daughters, Erika Williamson of Durham, NC and Tracy MacNeal of Narragansett, RI. He also had two sons-in-law and four grandchildren.
He is remembered in North Carolina as a passionate advocate for mentally and emotionally handicapped youth and adults, and devoted his life to serving that population. He reached out to all people in need and gave his time and service generously.
David Carroll Wilson LeMay
29 May 1944 - 20 April 2005
Raleigh News Observer, April 22, 2005
Man dies in crash at Capitol
A single-car accident early Wednesday morning left a Morganton man dead and a state monument damaged.
David Carrol LeMay, 60, was driving alone in a 2004 Saturn sedan on Hillsborough Street shortly before 1 a.m. Wednesday, said Jim Sughrue, spokesman for the Raleigh Police Department. LeMay was traveling eastbound at an estimated speed of 50 mph when his car jumped the curb of Salisbury Street and crashed into a stone wall that surrounds the Confederate monument on the lawn of the state Capitol.
Lemay was pronounced dead at the scene, Sughrue said. He was not wearing a seat belt.
An officer estimated the damage to the stone at $10,000, Sughrue said. The area near the crash scene was cordoned off by yellow crime scene tape early Wednesday.
Two of the Raleigh gneiss granite slabs at the base of confederate monument were broken into pieces from the impact of the crash. The monument is made from Mount Airy granite, according to Ed Morris, head of museum and visitor services for the state's Cultural Resources Department.
The monument itself was unscathed, said Morris.
Police have not determined an exact cause of the crash and asked anyone who witnessed the crash to call investigators at 890-3555.
This is the first time the Confederate monument has been hit since it was erected in the late 1880s, Morris said.
"We don't have any records of anyone crashing into it," Morris said.
The monument features three statues representing infantry, cavalry and artillery soldiers. North Carolinians made up close to a quarter of all Confederate deaths, according to the state Capitol Web site.
Raleigh News Observer, April 27, 2005
Wreck put end to life on the mend
A consummate cook with a gourmand's flair, David C. LeMay had the ability to transform chow hall food into special fare.
"He could kind of make a silk purse out of a sow's ear," said his friend Dick Rogers.
As an employee at The Flynn Christian Fellowship Home in Burke County, LeMay's meals became the highlight of the home's nightly dinners, said Rogers, president of the board of directors for the center that serves homeless men with substance-abuse problems.
The 60-year-old died Wednesday morning after his car crashed into a stone wall that surrounds the Confederate monument on the lawn of the state Capitol, police said.
LeMay was alone in a 2004 Saturn sedan heading east on Hillsborough Street when the accident occurred about 1 a.m., according to a police report. The speed limit is 35 mph. He was pronounced dead at the scene and was not wearing a seat belt.
Police did not know Thursday what had caused the accident.
The Morganton man had traveled to Raleigh for a training session about federal funding for a grant secured by the Flynn Home, which works with recovering alcoholics and drug addicts, Rogers said Thursday.
LeMay, who had a master's in early childhood education from UNC-Chapel Hill, previously had worked with the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services in Raleigh, Rogers said.
LeMay entered Flynn Home as a client almost two years ago, Rogers said. LeMay worked on staying sober, became the home's manager and eventually was named the program director.
LeMay strove to make the Morganton center a gathering place for former and current residents along with other recovering alcoholics.
"You can spend a lot of years working with people in these programs and do it more mechanically," Rogers said. "David wasn't that kind of guy. He really cared about the individuals."
Under LeMay's fun-loving, humorous approach, the home's programs flourished.
"I miss him," Rogers said. "He was a good individual."
Morganton, NC, News Herald - Wednesday, April 27, 2005
David Carroll LeMay, age 60, of Morganton, died April 20. He is survived by two daughters, Tracy MacNeal of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and Erika Williamson of Durham; and three grandchildren. He lost his life in an automobile accident in Raleigh. He was the program manager at the Flynn Christian Fellowship Home in Morganton, and had a long career in education and social services. A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. May 8, at the Winston-Salem Friends Meeting (3151 Reynolda Road, Winston-Salem). In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Flynn Christian Fellowship Home, 721 West Union St., Morganton, NC 28655.
LeMAY, David Carroll; 60; ; Asheville Citizen-Times (NC); 2005-4-27; wrabb
LeMAY, David Carroll; 60; ; Asheville Citizen-Times (NC); 2005-5-7; wrabb
LeMAY, David Carroll; 60; Morganton NC; Winston-Salem Journal; 2005-5-1; msty
LeMAY, David Carroll; 60; Raleigh NC; Morganton H; 2005-4-27; wrabb
LeMAY, David Carroll; 60; Raleigh NC; Raleigh N & O; 2005-4-27; atjaden