When U history professor Dean May died of a heart attack May 6, his loss was felt by colleagues on campus and across the country.

A giant in the field of LDS history and the American West, May symbolized a simplicity of thought with a life of loyalty and achievement, said Jill Mulvay Derr, a professor of history at Brigham Young University and one of May’s colleagues.

“In much of his scholarship, he was ahead of the curve…He was a voice of equanimity and passion in a difficult time for Mormon study,” Derr said.

A tribute to May’s life was the venue for the first of this year’s Mormon Studies Brown Bag Series, devoted to highlight work related to Mormonism by members of the U community.

May, who delivered the first lecture in November 2001, was remembered as a man of integrity and loyalty, Derr said.

“The warm easy chair in Dean’s office bespoke the trust and loyalty he had for his students and that his students had for him…I believe the man who connected the present with the past will now connect the present with the future,” Derr said.

Adam Benson