Patricia May, Former NWABJ Editor, Dies at 55

Patricia May, editor of the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal when the publication launched in April 1997, died Monday in Harrison after a short battle with cancer. She was 55.

May, who held the title of executive editor when she left the Business Journal in March 2000, was most recently a category manager and market analyst for household products manufacturer Church and Dwight Co., according to her obituary.

May, a Harrison native and 1980 graduate of the University of Arkansas, had previously worked for Procter & Gamble, The Clorox Co., and A.C. Nielsen.

Before her business career, May was a journalist for several publications. She was a reporter for the The Springdale News and the Northwest Arkansas Times in the 1980s. 

While pursuing a master’s degree from Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, she was a reporter for American Banker in Chicago and Washington. 

Upon returning to Arkansas, she was a business reporter for the Arkansas Gazette in Little Rock and Fayetteville, and The Morning News in Springdale.

During her years working in the Walmart vendor community, she continued freelance writing for the Arkansas Catholic, the weekly newspaper for the Diocese of Little Rock.

Funeral Mass is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday at Mary Mother of God Catholic Church in Harrison. Father Jim Fanrak will officiate.