May Carter Duncan, a longtime resident of Salem, quietly passed away on Tuesday, November 08, 2005. A graduate of Farmville and Roanoke Colleges, she later earned her Master's Degree at Northwestern University. She began her teaching career with Roanoke County Schools in 1931 as a mathematics teacher at Clearbrook Elementary. She went on to teach at William Byrd junior and senior highs and was once principal of Broad Street School. For 46 years, she taught at the primary, elementary and secondary levels, strove to improve county schools, served as an elementary education supervisor from 1947 to 1961, and spent her last 16 years in education as principal of East Salem Elementary. In 1994, she received the 1993 Distinguished Educator Achievement Award from the state of Virginia and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), becoming the first woman to receive this award in Virginia. She was endorsed to teach everything from history and mathematics to pre-flight and is credited with pioneering the inception of the SACS accreditation program in Roanoke County's elementary schools. After retiring from public schools, she taught Summer School at Roanoke College. She was a former member of First Baptist Church and a member of Salem Baptist Church, as well as a past Regent of the Fort Lewis Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She is preceded in death by her parents, E. Stuart and Alice M. Carter; her husband, John W. Duncan; and sister, Annie B. Carter. Her surviving family includes a brother-in-law, Henry Duncan; sisters-in-law, Mary Sue Newman and Annie L. Shelor; special cousins, Mary Frances Zimmerman and Bob Zimmerman; and a number of other cousins. A graveside service will be conducted at 10 a.m. on Friday, November 11, 2005 at Sherwood Memorial Park in Salem, with a memorial service to follow at 11 a.m. in the John M. Oakey & Son Funeral Home Chapel. The Rev. Everett Kier will be officiating at both services. The family will receive friends at the funeral home on Thursday, November 10, 2005 from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. The family would also like to give special thanks to the nurses and staff at Snyder Nursing Home. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Roanoke College, the Veterinarian School at Virginia Tech or to a favorite charity. Arrangements by John M. Oakey & Son Funeral Home, Salem, 389-5441.

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