May Louise Fales Willard, born on August 26, 1878, grew up in Franklin, Massachusetts. She played baseball and tennis, which was out of the norm for a young lady at the start of the twentieth century. Willard was an avid fan of the Boston Red Sox since their inception when she was twenty-three. In fact, her most prized possession was an official Red Sox baseball signed by the players.

 

Willard’s father, Charles Fales, owned a grocery store in Town and her great-grandfather was a drummer boy in the Revolutionary War. She married Albert Willard, but he died young, leaving her a widow for forty years. Willard’s best friend was Alice Wiggin. They were neighbors as children and remained close friends throughout their lives.

 

The Town of Franklin honored her on her 100th birthday by proclaiming it, August 26, 1978, as May Willard Day.

 

May Willard died in 1978 a few months after her 100th birthday.