Our school community is mourning the loss of Reagan May, a bright and caring student, sister, niece, friend and daughter whose warmth and laughter touched everyone who knew her. Friends, teachers and family will remember her for her creativity, drive, stubbornness, compassion and the way she always looked out for others.

“I don’t even have the words to describe her,”  Reagan’s father Nick May said. “When she walked into a room, it just lit up.”

Her hobbies included horseback riding, baking, hunting and firefighting. Firefighting was a passion she was considering making a career, and she wished one day to become the first female chief of the Milford fire department.

It was evident that if Reagan faced a setback, she would come back stronger and more determined to succeed.

This summer, Reagan attended Camp Cadet where she made herself known and made her family extremely proud. Troopers would go up to her dad and ask if his daughter was in the cadet program.

“The weekend before she went to Camp Cadet, she was terrified of failing,” Reagan’s mom Joanne May said. “We told her she’s going to fail at something, but she’s not going to quit.”

When Reagan was younger, she loved to bake. One of her mom’s favorite memories is when she came home from work to a messy kitchen, flour everywhere and a little girl with a huge smile on her face with decorated cupcakes or cookies.

“She made me want to be the best mom I could be,” Joanne said. “She lit up every room she walked in, her laughter filled it. I strive to be like her everyday.”

Children were also naturally drawn to Reagan. She always found ways to make kids laugh and could communicate with them on a level that not many others could. She was known almost as the fun aunt to some of the preschool kids.

“She once convinced the whole preschool class that the sky was purple,” Nick said. “Reags was very convincing.”

Reagan will be remembered as the girl you could always count on. If you needed a friend, a lending hand or a reason to smile, Reagan was there – ready, without hesitation, and always with an open heart.

“She made a name for herself and pushed hard, and we could not have been more proud of her,” her family said.