One of the victims killed during the wildfires in Gatlinburg was remembered through a visitation and memorial service in Nashville on Saturday.
May Vance, age 75, suffered a heart attack while escaping the fires and later died at the hospital. With her the whole time was her husband of 53 years, former longtime Bellevue attorney Jimmy Vance.
Both graduated from Hillsboro High School in 1960 and married after college. Jimmy started a law firm while she was his secretary and eventually moved to Gatlinburg six years ago.
"She was just a special person," Former Congressman and longtime friend Bob Clement told NewsChannel 5. "They had more than a marriage. It was a partnership, and they were totally inseparable."
May Vance remembered in Nashville. She is one of the 13 people who died during Gatlinburg wildfires. May moved to Gatlinburg 6 yrs ago. @NC5 pic.twitter.com/9ekQaprmId
— Matthew Torres (@NC5_MTorres) December 3, 2016
The husband and wife just got to their home near Wiley Oakley Road that Monday. Nothing seemed wrong until May looked out the window and saw flames quickly approaching their home.
"She got scared to death and real excited as anyone else would," May's brother-in-law, Charles Vance, said.
They frantically gathered their belongings and dog Peanut and drove away. However, May already felt some chest pains as Jimmy navigated around the roaring flames consuming the sides of the road.
"They couldn't get through one of the ways out of the mountain because of the fire. The trees had already fallen down and blocked the road," described Charles.
The smoke was so thick it was hard to see the road. May had rolled down her window to make sure her husband did not drive off the already narrow road.
"When he got below the fire line, she had slumped over next to him, but was not touching him," Charles explained. "Jimmy could tell something was drastically wrong but he could not stop right there to do anything because the fire was so close."
May eventually got help and was transported to two different hospitals and revived at least five times. However, it was on Wednesday when her condition was so bad that her family decided to pull the use of medication and breathing machine. She died with her husband and two sons by her side.
"We joined hands and had a group prayer, and Jim would hold May's hands and one of the other sons would hold her other hand," Charles recalled. "We still have faith in God. We know we don't understand, but we leave it in his hands."
May was described as a special person who never left her husband's side. Jimmy has now questioned why they never received an evacuation notice earlier in the day.
He has been staying with his brother in Nashville and has not decided whether to rebuild in Gatlinburg.
The family also held a visitation at Atchley's Smoky Mountain Chapel in Pigeon Forge on Friday.
