Vera Maye

Vera "Mah" Maye, 70, of Elizabeth NJ, formerly of Kinston died on June 12 at Trinitas Hospital, Elizabeth. Services will be held on Tuesday, June 17, at 7 p.m. at the New Hope Memorial Baptist Church, 91 Division St., Elizabeth. Final services will be held Sunday, June 22, 2008 at Hull Road FWB Church with Bishop Williams officiating. Interment will follow at Parrott Cemetery. Local arrangements handled by Swinson Funeral Service, Inc. in Kinston, NC.
Born in Lenoir County, N.C., Mrs. Maye moved to Elizabeth in 1972. She retired from the Economy Color Card Company in Elizabeth. Mrs. Maye was a faithful member of the Bethel Holy Church in Elizabeth, where she was a member of the mothers board, head of the kitchen committee, president of the junior choir and senior choir treasurer. Mother Maye, as she was affectionately known, loved to cook and bake for anyone who was willing and able to eat. She was an active pillar of the community and never met a stranger. Her smile and her cooking were her signature trademarks, never to be duplicated. She was predeceased by her husband, Elijah Maye; a son, Michael Cotton, and a great-grandson, Antwan Benton. She leaves to cherish loving and lasting memories, her beloved mother, Vara Cotton; a daughter, Betty Jean Coples; three grandchildren, Latanya Benton (Tally Sr.), Hera Athena Coples (Eugene) and Curtis Devan Coples Jr.; five great-grandchildren, and one great-great grandson. Out of 21 siblings, she is also survived by four brothers, seven sisters, and a host of other loving relatives and her Bethel family.

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