1st spouse:
Eva Lavern Brand Arnold
2nd Spouse:
Iama Louise Reeves Mayo Beavers
Children:
Jimmie Bryant Mayo
Johnny Keith Mayo
Beverly Faye Mayo-Allen
Virginia Louise Mayo
Step Children raised as his own:
David Eugene Jackson
Flora Jane Jackson-Sandbak
John Bryant Mayo was known as "Johnny B" growing up. This was so everyone would know which "John" was being referred to since "John" was a common name in the Mayo clan.
John was raised on the family farm in Tioga, Texas. At the young age of 14,his father, Allen Mayo, passed away from Asthma. As you can see he came from a very large family with over a dozen children to feed. John left school, along with a couple of older brothers, and went to work full time on the farm, in town and anywhere else he could make a little money. On payday he would treat himself to a cream soda and give the rest to his widowed mother.
A year or two later things got a lot better for this family. Cora Mayo, John's mother, married James "Jim" Andrew Lang. John was forever grateful for this man, who took on a ready made family as his own. He said "In all reality, things were so bad, that if it wasn't for Jim, the family would have died of starvation. John went on to name his first born son "Jimmie"...
On 01/11/1939,at the age of 18,John joined the Civilian Conservation Corps, which he called CCC Camp. The pay for his hard manual labor was a mere $22.00 a month. All of his needs were being met at camp so he sent this money to his mother and kept none for himself.
After nine months with the CCC, he took seriously ill with rheumatoid arthritis. His next 2 months were spent in a Military Hospital at Ft. Sill Oklahoma. As he wasn't getting any better, they sent him to the Army & Navy General Hospital in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He traveled there by military train in a cargo car with nowhere to sit but on the floor. He made that trip in the dead of winter, sick, unable to walk and no coat of his own. The soldier that was sent to help him make the trip took off his own coat and wrapped it around John. On the trip they had to transfer trains a couple of times. This soldier carried him piggy back from train to train. Years later John would still get misty eyed when he talked of how this stranger took such compassionate care of him. He spent the next 6 months in the hospital and was released from CCC on 06/30/1940.
Shortly after CCC Camp, he married his first wife, Eva Brand. They had one child together, Jimmie Bryant Mayo, born on 01/19/1946 in Denison, Texas. They lived in many different places during their 14 year marriage including Texas and California. During many of these years he had to use crutches to walk so job selection was very limited. John was a very hard worker and would take any job he could get to care for his family. He landed a job driving a Taxi Cab in the Denison Sherman area that he worked for many years
On 04/15/1959 he married his second wife, Iama "Louise Reeves Jackson. This marriage gave him 2 step children, David Eugene Jackson and Flora "Jane Jackson. He grew to love these children and raised them as his own.
John's second son, Johnny Keith Mayo was born in Sherman, Texas on o1/02/1960.The following year he moved his growing family to Tulsa, Oklahoma. On 08/20/1961, his first daughter, Beverly Faye Mayo, was born.
When the new baby was 6 weeks old, the family moved to Seligman, Missouri. By this time he was able to walk without the aid of crutches and found a job that would support his family of six. There they lived and worked on a Simmons Industries Chicken farm.
In the later part of 1963 they was transferred to a bigger farm in Tontitown, Arkansas. On 05/24/1964 the family welcomed their last child, a daughter named, Virginia Louise Mayo, born in the neighboring town of Rogers.
In the fall of 1968,John's job transferred them one last time to an even bigger farm in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. This farm was more of a ranch. It consisted of, six large chicken houses(with two of those each being longer than a football field), a huge cattle pasture, a large pen for raising pigs, along with the family home. The chickens were laying hens, so it kept everyone busy, but it also taught the children discipline and good work ethics which followed them throughout their lives. Many times when eggs were in high production, outside help was hired in order to keep up with the work. It was a life of hard, honest work, but it was a good life.
From the time John was a little boy, he suffered from asthma. Because of this disease and years of breathing in dirty air in the chicken houses, he was sick a lot. The last time, he developed Pneumonia.This is when his Dr. advised him to get away from the chicken farms or he wouldn't live much longer. For this reason, in 1973,he moved his family to a farm on Fitzgerald Mountain, east of Springdale, Ark. There they raised open range turkeys. The mountain had 5 huge turkey ranges on top along with several farm buildings,2 ponds, and the family home. The outer edges of the Mt. was circled with trees, caves and bluffs with a road cut out to get to the top. The kids helped with the farm work, but also had this beautiful Mt. to roam, explore, hunt squirrels, or go fishing anytime they wanted to.
Throughout the years on all of these farms, John and Louise grew big gardens with about any vegetable you would want to eat. It was nothing unusual for the canning to be going on long after the kids were in bed.
In January of 1975, dark times hit. At the age of 54, John fell and broke a hip. This, combined with other health problems, left him unable to work again. Years later he told a family member, "The first couple of years being disabled was so depressing, it about drove me crazy". John was always a hard worker that against all odds, provided well for his family, but now felt useless and in the way. They still had 3 children at home to put through school and feed. Louise took a job in town, and along with the kids, worked extra hard to be able to stay on this beautiful Mt. another two years.
When it came time to leave the Mt., Virginia was the only child left at home. They moved to Farmington, Ark., a little town outside of Fayetteville. Louise continued to work in town, and to bring in extra income, they baby sat. Having these little ones to love and care for gave John a new lease on life. He now felt useful. By this time he was doing most of the family cooking, and could cook better than most women. He could cook a mean pot of beans and make biscuits from scratch.
In the fall of 1980, after 20 years of living away from their families, they moved to Cartwright, Oklahoma, just across the Red River from Denison Tx. John's Mother and Father in law were up in the years and in failing health. This move enabled John and Louise to help take care of them. This was also much closer to John's oldest son, Jimmie. They enjoyed many a fishing trip together on Lake Texhoma.
While living in Cartwright, Louise didn't have to work in town. They were able to make a good living running a little daycare out of their home.
Sometime after Virginia graduated high school in 1982,they moved back to the Tulsa area. This put them closer to the other 4 grown children and grand babies.
On 12/05/1985, (while getting ready for a day of fishing with his baby brother, Everette), John fell over with a massive brain bleed. This happened at Jim's house in Howe, Texas. A couple of hours latter he went into a coma never to wake up. Three days later at Wilson N. Jones Hospital in Sherman Texas, at the age of 65, he peacefully passed away. As hard as this was on his family, they found comfort in knowing he had lived a long, full life and would no longer be suffering. By God's Grace he was now healed from all pain....
John lived a simple life and found great pleasure out of simple things. Whether it be it be playing dominoes with family visiting from out of town, making a baby laugh or landing a striper. He enjoyed his life to the fullest.
John Mayo will be forever loved and missed by his family and friends......
"Fisherman's Prayer"
I pray that I may live to fish
Until my dying day,
And when it comes,my last cast,
I'll then most humbly pray.
When in the Lords great landing
net and peacefully asleep,
that in his mercy I be judged
big enough to keep.
Amen...
Eva Lavern Brand Arnold
2nd Spouse:
Iama Louise Reeves Mayo Beavers
Children:
Jimmie Bryant Mayo
Johnny Keith Mayo
Beverly Faye Mayo-Allen
Virginia Louise Mayo
Step Children raised as his own:
David Eugene Jackson
Flora Jane Jackson-Sandbak
John Bryant Mayo was known as "Johnny B" growing up. This was so everyone would know which "John" was being referred to since "John" was a common name in the Mayo clan.
John was raised on the family farm in Tioga, Texas. At the young age of 14,his father, Allen Mayo, passed away from Asthma. As you can see he came from a very large family with over a dozen children to feed. John left school, along with a couple of older brothers, and went to work full time on the farm, in town and anywhere else he could make a little money. On payday he would treat himself to a cream soda and give the rest to his widowed mother.
A year or two later things got a lot better for this family. Cora Mayo, John's mother, married James "Jim" Andrew Lang. John was forever grateful for this man, who took on a ready made family as his own. He said "In all reality, things were so bad, that if it wasn't for Jim, the family would have died of starvation. John went on to name his first born son "Jimmie"...
On 01/11/1939,at the age of 18,John joined the Civilian Conservation Corps, which he called CCC Camp. The pay for his hard manual labor was a mere $22.00 a month. All of his needs were being met at camp so he sent this money to his mother and kept none for himself.
After nine months with the CCC, he took seriously ill with rheumatoid arthritis. His next 2 months were spent in a Military Hospital at Ft. Sill Oklahoma. As he wasn't getting any better, they sent him to the Army & Navy General Hospital in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He traveled there by military train in a cargo car with nowhere to sit but on the floor. He made that trip in the dead of winter, sick, unable to walk and no coat of his own. The soldier that was sent to help him make the trip took off his own coat and wrapped it around John. On the trip they had to transfer trains a couple of times. This soldier carried him piggy back from train to train. Years later John would still get misty eyed when he talked of how this stranger took such compassionate care of him. He spent the next 6 months in the hospital and was released from CCC on 06/30/1940.
Shortly after CCC Camp, he married his first wife, Eva Brand. They had one child together, Jimmie Bryant Mayo, born on 01/19/1946 in Denison, Texas. They lived in many different places during their 14 year marriage including Texas and California. During many of these years he had to use crutches to walk so job selection was very limited. John was a very hard worker and would take any job he could get to care for his family. He landed a job driving a Taxi Cab in the Denison Sherman area that he worked for many years
On 04/15/1959 he married his second wife, Iama "Louise Reeves Jackson. This marriage gave him 2 step children, David Eugene Jackson and Flora "Jane Jackson. He grew to love these children and raised them as his own.
John's second son, Johnny Keith Mayo was born in Sherman, Texas on o1/02/1960.The following year he moved his growing family to Tulsa, Oklahoma. On 08/20/1961, his first daughter, Beverly Faye Mayo, was born.
When the new baby was 6 weeks old, the family moved to Seligman, Missouri. By this time he was able to walk without the aid of crutches and found a job that would support his family of six. There they lived and worked on a Simmons Industries Chicken farm.
In the later part of 1963 they was transferred to a bigger farm in Tontitown, Arkansas. On 05/24/1964 the family welcomed their last child, a daughter named, Virginia Louise Mayo, born in the neighboring town of Rogers.
In the fall of 1968,John's job transferred them one last time to an even bigger farm in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. This farm was more of a ranch. It consisted of, six large chicken houses(with two of those each being longer than a football field), a huge cattle pasture, a large pen for raising pigs, along with the family home. The chickens were laying hens, so it kept everyone busy, but it also taught the children discipline and good work ethics which followed them throughout their lives. Many times when eggs were in high production, outside help was hired in order to keep up with the work. It was a life of hard, honest work, but it was a good life.
From the time John was a little boy, he suffered from asthma. Because of this disease and years of breathing in dirty air in the chicken houses, he was sick a lot. The last time, he developed Pneumonia.This is when his Dr. advised him to get away from the chicken farms or he wouldn't live much longer. For this reason, in 1973,he moved his family to a farm on Fitzgerald Mountain, east of Springdale, Ark. There they raised open range turkeys. The mountain had 5 huge turkey ranges on top along with several farm buildings,2 ponds, and the family home. The outer edges of the Mt. was circled with trees, caves and bluffs with a road cut out to get to the top. The kids helped with the farm work, but also had this beautiful Mt. to roam, explore, hunt squirrels, or go fishing anytime they wanted to.
Throughout the years on all of these farms, John and Louise grew big gardens with about any vegetable you would want to eat. It was nothing unusual for the canning to be going on long after the kids were in bed.
In January of 1975, dark times hit. At the age of 54, John fell and broke a hip. This, combined with other health problems, left him unable to work again. Years later he told a family member, "The first couple of years being disabled was so depressing, it about drove me crazy". John was always a hard worker that against all odds, provided well for his family, but now felt useless and in the way. They still had 3 children at home to put through school and feed. Louise took a job in town, and along with the kids, worked extra hard to be able to stay on this beautiful Mt. another two years.
When it came time to leave the Mt., Virginia was the only child left at home. They moved to Farmington, Ark., a little town outside of Fayetteville. Louise continued to work in town, and to bring in extra income, they baby sat. Having these little ones to love and care for gave John a new lease on life. He now felt useful. By this time he was doing most of the family cooking, and could cook better than most women. He could cook a mean pot of beans and make biscuits from scratch.
In the fall of 1980, after 20 years of living away from their families, they moved to Cartwright, Oklahoma, just across the Red River from Denison Tx. John's Mother and Father in law were up in the years and in failing health. This move enabled John and Louise to help take care of them. This was also much closer to John's oldest son, Jimmie. They enjoyed many a fishing trip together on Lake Texhoma.
While living in Cartwright, Louise didn't have to work in town. They were able to make a good living running a little daycare out of their home.
Sometime after Virginia graduated high school in 1982,they moved back to the Tulsa area. This put them closer to the other 4 grown children and grand babies.
On 12/05/1985, (while getting ready for a day of fishing with his baby brother, Everette), John fell over with a massive brain bleed. This happened at Jim's house in Howe, Texas. A couple of hours latter he went into a coma never to wake up. Three days later at Wilson N. Jones Hospital in Sherman Texas, at the age of 65, he peacefully passed away. As hard as this was on his family, they found comfort in knowing he had lived a long, full life and would no longer be suffering. By God's Grace he was now healed from all pain....
John lived a simple life and found great pleasure out of simple things. Whether it be it be playing dominoes with family visiting from out of town, making a baby laugh or landing a striper. He enjoyed his life to the fullest.
John Mayo will be forever loved and missed by his family and friends......
"Fisherman's Prayer"
I pray that I may live to fish
Until my dying day,
And when it comes,my last cast,
I'll then most humbly pray.
When in the Lords great landing
net and peacefully asleep,
that in his mercy I be judged
big enough to keep.
Amen...
1st spouse:
Eva Lavern Brand Arnold
2nd Spouse:
Iama Louise Reeves Mayo Beavers
Children:
Jimmie Bryant Mayo
Johnny Keith Mayo
Beverly Faye Mayo-Allen
Virginia Louise Mayo
Step Children raised as his own:
David Eugene Jackson
Flora Jane Jackson-Sandbak
John Bryant Mayo was known as "Johnny B" growing up. This was so everyone would know which "John" was being referred to since "John" was a common name in the Mayo clan.
John was raised on the family farm in Tioga, Texas. At the young age of 14,his father, Allen Mayo, passed away from Asthma. As you can see he came from a very large family with over a dozen children to feed. John left school, along with a couple of older brothers, and went to work full time on the farm, in town and anywhere else he could make a little money. On payday he would treat himself to a cream soda and give the rest to his widowed mother.
A year or two later things got a lot better for this family. Cora Mayo, John's mother, married James "Jim" Andrew Lang. John was forever grateful for this man, who took on a ready made family as his own. He said "In all reality, things were so bad, that if it wasn't for Jim, the family would have died of starvation. John went on to name his first born son "Jimmie"...
On 01/11/1939,at the age of 18,John joined the Civilian Conservation Corps, which he called CCC Camp. The pay for his hard manual labor was a mere $22.00 a month. All of his needs were being met at camp so he sent this money to his mother and kept none for himself.
After nine months with the CCC, he took seriously ill with rheumatoid arthritis. His next 2 months were spent in a Military Hospital at Ft. Sill Oklahoma. As he wasn't getting any better, they sent him to the Army & Navy General Hospital in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He traveled there by military train in a cargo car with nowhere to sit but on the floor. He made that trip in the dead of winter, sick, unable to walk and no coat of his own. The soldier that was sent to help him make the trip took off his own coat and wrapped it around John. On the trip they had to transfer trains a couple of times. This soldier carried him piggy back from train to train. Years later John would still get misty eyed when he talked of how this stranger took such compassionate care of him. He spent the next 6 months in the hospital and was released from CCC on 06/30/1940.
Shortly after CCC Camp, he married his first wife, Eva Brand. They had one child together, Jimmie Bryant Mayo, born on 01/19/1946 in Denison, Texas. They lived in many different places during their 14 year marriage including Texas and California. During many of these years he had to use crutches to walk so job selection was very limited. John was a very hard worker and would take any job he could get to care for his family. He landed a job driving a Taxi Cab in the Denison Sherman area that he worked for many years
On 04/15/1959 he married his second wife, Iama "Louise Reeves Jackson. This marriage gave him 2 step children, David Eugene Jackson and Flora "Jane Jackson. He grew to love these children and raised them as his own.
John's second son, Johnny Keith Mayo was born in Sherman, Texas on o1/02/1960.The following year he moved his growing family to Tulsa, Oklahoma. On 08/20/1961, his first daughter, Beverly Faye Mayo, was born.
When the new baby was 6 weeks old, the family moved to Seligman, Missouri. By this time he was able to walk without the aid of crutches and found a job that would support his family of six. There they lived and worked on a Simmons Industries Chicken farm.
In the later part of 1963 they was transferred to a bigger farm in Tontitown, Arkansas. On 05/24/1964 the family welcomed their last child, a daughter named, Virginia Louise Mayo, born in the neighboring town of Rogers.
In the fall of 1968,John's job transferred them one last time to an even bigger farm in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. This farm was more of a ranch. It consisted of, six large chicken houses(with two of those each being longer than a football field), a huge cattle pasture, a large pen for raising pigs, along with the family home. The chickens were laying hens, so it kept everyone busy, but it also taught the children discipline and good work ethics which followed them throughout their lives. Many times when eggs were in high production, outside help was hired in order to keep up with the work. It was a life of hard, honest work, but it was a good life.
From the time John was a little boy, he suffered from asthma. Because of this disease and years of breathing in dirty air in the chicken houses, he was sick a lot. The last time, he developed Pneumonia.This is when his Dr. advised him to get away from the chicken farms or he wouldn't live much longer. For this reason, in 1973,he moved his family to a farm on Fitzgerald Mountain, east of Springdale, Ark. There they raised open range turkeys. The mountain had 5 huge turkey ranges on top along with several farm buildings,2 ponds, and the family home. The outer edges of the Mt. was circled with trees, caves and bluffs with a road cut out to get to the top. The kids helped with the farm work, but also had this beautiful Mt. to roam, explore, hunt squirrels, or go fishing anytime they wanted to.
Throughout the years on all of these farms, John and Louise grew big gardens with about any vegetable you would want to eat. It was nothing unusual for the canning to be going on long after the kids were in bed.
In January of 1975, dark times hit. At the age of 54, John fell and broke a hip. This, combined with other health problems, left him unable to work again. Years later he told a family member, "The first couple of years being disabled was so depressing, it about drove me crazy". John was always a hard worker that against all odds, provided well for his family, but now felt useless and in the way. They still had 3 children at home to put through school and feed. Louise took a job in town, and along with the kids, worked extra hard to be able to stay on this beautiful Mt. another two years.
When it came time to leave the Mt., Virginia was the only child left at home. They moved to Farmington, Ark., a little town outside of Fayetteville. Louise continued to work in town, and to bring in extra income, they baby sat. Having these little ones to love and care for gave John a new lease on life. He now felt useful. By this time he was doing most of the family cooking, and could cook better than most women. He could cook a mean pot of beans and make biscuits from scratch.
In the fall of 1980, after 20 years of living away from their families, they moved to Cartwright, Oklahoma, just across the Red River from Denison Tx. John's Mother and Father in law were up in the years and in failing health. This move enabled John and Louise to help take care of them. This was also much closer to John's oldest son, Jimmie. They enjoyed many a fishing trip together on Lake Texhoma.
While living in Cartwright, Louise didn't have to work in town. They were able to make a good living running a little daycare out of their home.
Sometime after Virginia graduated high school in 1982,they moved back to the Tulsa area. This put them closer to the other 4 grown children and grand babies.
On 12/05/1985, (while getting ready for a day of fishing with his baby brother, Everette), John fell over with a massive brain bleed. This happened at Jim's house in Howe, Texas. A couple of hours latter he went into a coma never to wake up. Three days later at Wilson N. Jones Hospital in Sherman Texas, at the age of 65, he peacefully passed away. As hard as this was on his family, they found comfort in knowing he had lived a long, full life and would no longer be suffering. By God's Grace he was now healed from all pain....
John lived a simple life and found great pleasure out of simple things. Whether it be it be playing dominoes with family visiting from out of town, making a baby laugh or landing a striper. He enjoyed his life to the fullest.
John Mayo will be forever loved and missed by his family and friends......
"Fisherman's Prayer"
I pray that I may live to fish
Until my dying day,
And when it comes,my last cast,
I'll then most humbly pray.
When in the Lords great landing
net and peacefully asleep,
that in his mercy I be judged
big enough to keep.
Amen...
Eva Lavern Brand Arnold
2nd Spouse:
Iama Louise Reeves Mayo Beavers
Children:
Jimmie Bryant Mayo
Johnny Keith Mayo
Beverly Faye Mayo-Allen
Virginia Louise Mayo
Step Children raised as his own:
David Eugene Jackson
Flora Jane Jackson-Sandbak
John Bryant Mayo was known as "Johnny B" growing up. This was so everyone would know which "John" was being referred to since "John" was a common name in the Mayo clan.
John was raised on the family farm in Tioga, Texas. At the young age of 14,his father, Allen Mayo, passed away from Asthma. As you can see he came from a very large family with over a dozen children to feed. John left school, along with a couple of older brothers, and went to work full time on the farm, in town and anywhere else he could make a little money. On payday he would treat himself to a cream soda and give the rest to his widowed mother.
A year or two later things got a lot better for this family. Cora Mayo, John's mother, married James "Jim" Andrew Lang. John was forever grateful for this man, who took on a ready made family as his own. He said "In all reality, things were so bad, that if it wasn't for Jim, the family would have died of starvation. John went on to name his first born son "Jimmie"...
On 01/11/1939,at the age of 18,John joined the Civilian Conservation Corps, which he called CCC Camp. The pay for his hard manual labor was a mere $22.00 a month. All of his needs were being met at camp so he sent this money to his mother and kept none for himself.
After nine months with the CCC, he took seriously ill with rheumatoid arthritis. His next 2 months were spent in a Military Hospital at Ft. Sill Oklahoma. As he wasn't getting any better, they sent him to the Army & Navy General Hospital in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He traveled there by military train in a cargo car with nowhere to sit but on the floor. He made that trip in the dead of winter, sick, unable to walk and no coat of his own. The soldier that was sent to help him make the trip took off his own coat and wrapped it around John. On the trip they had to transfer trains a couple of times. This soldier carried him piggy back from train to train. Years later John would still get misty eyed when he talked of how this stranger took such compassionate care of him. He spent the next 6 months in the hospital and was released from CCC on 06/30/1940.
Shortly after CCC Camp, he married his first wife, Eva Brand. They had one child together, Jimmie Bryant Mayo, born on 01/19/1946 in Denison, Texas. They lived in many different places during their 14 year marriage including Texas and California. During many of these years he had to use crutches to walk so job selection was very limited. John was a very hard worker and would take any job he could get to care for his family. He landed a job driving a Taxi Cab in the Denison Sherman area that he worked for many years
On 04/15/1959 he married his second wife, Iama "Louise Reeves Jackson. This marriage gave him 2 step children, David Eugene Jackson and Flora "Jane Jackson. He grew to love these children and raised them as his own.
John's second son, Johnny Keith Mayo was born in Sherman, Texas on o1/02/1960.The following year he moved his growing family to Tulsa, Oklahoma. On 08/20/1961, his first daughter, Beverly Faye Mayo, was born.
When the new baby was 6 weeks old, the family moved to Seligman, Missouri. By this time he was able to walk without the aid of crutches and found a job that would support his family of six. There they lived and worked on a Simmons Industries Chicken farm.
In the later part of 1963 they was transferred to a bigger farm in Tontitown, Arkansas. On 05/24/1964 the family welcomed their last child, a daughter named, Virginia Louise Mayo, born in the neighboring town of Rogers.
In the fall of 1968,John's job transferred them one last time to an even bigger farm in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. This farm was more of a ranch. It consisted of, six large chicken houses(with two of those each being longer than a football field), a huge cattle pasture, a large pen for raising pigs, along with the family home. The chickens were laying hens, so it kept everyone busy, but it also taught the children discipline and good work ethics which followed them throughout their lives. Many times when eggs were in high production, outside help was hired in order to keep up with the work. It was a life of hard, honest work, but it was a good life.
From the time John was a little boy, he suffered from asthma. Because of this disease and years of breathing in dirty air in the chicken houses, he was sick a lot. The last time, he developed Pneumonia.This is when his Dr. advised him to get away from the chicken farms or he wouldn't live much longer. For this reason, in 1973,he moved his family to a farm on Fitzgerald Mountain, east of Springdale, Ark. There they raised open range turkeys. The mountain had 5 huge turkey ranges on top along with several farm buildings,2 ponds, and the family home. The outer edges of the Mt. was circled with trees, caves and bluffs with a road cut out to get to the top. The kids helped with the farm work, but also had this beautiful Mt. to roam, explore, hunt squirrels, or go fishing anytime they wanted to.
Throughout the years on all of these farms, John and Louise grew big gardens with about any vegetable you would want to eat. It was nothing unusual for the canning to be going on long after the kids were in bed.
In January of 1975, dark times hit. At the age of 54, John fell and broke a hip. This, combined with other health problems, left him unable to work again. Years later he told a family member, "The first couple of years being disabled was so depressing, it about drove me crazy". John was always a hard worker that against all odds, provided well for his family, but now felt useless and in the way. They still had 3 children at home to put through school and feed. Louise took a job in town, and along with the kids, worked extra hard to be able to stay on this beautiful Mt. another two years.
When it came time to leave the Mt., Virginia was the only child left at home. They moved to Farmington, Ark., a little town outside of Fayetteville. Louise continued to work in town, and to bring in extra income, they baby sat. Having these little ones to love and care for gave John a new lease on life. He now felt useful. By this time he was doing most of the family cooking, and could cook better than most women. He could cook a mean pot of beans and make biscuits from scratch.
In the fall of 1980, after 20 years of living away from their families, they moved to Cartwright, Oklahoma, just across the Red River from Denison Tx. John's Mother and Father in law were up in the years and in failing health. This move enabled John and Louise to help take care of them. This was also much closer to John's oldest son, Jimmie. They enjoyed many a fishing trip together on Lake Texhoma.
While living in Cartwright, Louise didn't have to work in town. They were able to make a good living running a little daycare out of their home.
Sometime after Virginia graduated high school in 1982,they moved back to the Tulsa area. This put them closer to the other 4 grown children and grand babies.
On 12/05/1985, (while getting ready for a day of fishing with his baby brother, Everette), John fell over with a massive brain bleed. This happened at Jim's house in Howe, Texas. A couple of hours latter he went into a coma never to wake up. Three days later at Wilson N. Jones Hospital in Sherman Texas, at the age of 65, he peacefully passed away. As hard as this was on his family, they found comfort in knowing he had lived a long, full life and would no longer be suffering. By God's Grace he was now healed from all pain....
John lived a simple life and found great pleasure out of simple things. Whether it be it be playing dominoes with family visiting from out of town, making a baby laugh or landing a striper. He enjoyed his life to the fullest.
John Mayo will be forever loved and missed by his family and friends......
"Fisherman's Prayer"
I pray that I may live to fish
Until my dying day,
And when it comes,my last cast,
I'll then most humbly pray.
When in the Lords great landing
net and peacefully asleep,
that in his mercy I be judged
big enough to keep.
Amen...
Gravesite Details
...GONE FISHING...
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