Gerald Lynn Mayfield

We lost our Dad, Grandpa, and Great Grandpa, Gerald (Jerry) L. Mayfield, on Saturday, June 4th, just two days after his 92nd Birthday. He was predeceased by his mother, Alice Mayfield (Sawyer), his three brothers, Earl, Roland, and Richard (Dick) Mayfield, his wife of 35 years, the first Love of his life, Beverley Mayfield (Barnes), and his longtime companion, the 2nd Love of his life, Linda Clute. He is survived by his two sons, Gary and Greg Mayfield, his daughter Jan Volz (Mayfield), and Linda's daughter, Jennifer Clute; six grandchildren: Kristoffer (44), Kevin (41), and Stephen (35) Mayfield, Joshua (43) and Jared (38) Volz, and Amber-Rose (30) Coronado (Mayfield); and seven great grandchildren Evelyn (13), Gavin (12), and Alex (8) Volz, Kailani (12) and Lily (11) Wilson, and Armando (8) and Aiyanna (2 months) Coronado.

Our Dad was a diehard car guy. He was in the Automobile industry his whole life as a Garage and Parts Store owner and after he sold his businesses, he worked as a Parts Outside Salesman into his eighties. He had a wealth of information to share, always preached hard work, business and personal integrity, and was very well respected in his industry. His love for Hot Rods, Classic Cars, and anything mechanical, began when he was too small to see under the hood standing up, so his brothers would push him up on the fender so he could tinker and adjust. His shop had the first dynamometer west of the Mississippi, his specialty was carburetors, and people would come from all over just to have him work on their vehicle. He had an ear for motors and could diagnose them just by listening.

He also had an ear for music. He was exposed to music at an early age by his mother playing hymns on the piano, while he and his brothers sang along, but his favorite music was Dixieland Jazz. As a child, he had a neighbor who had a record player and Jazz records and would let him listen whenever he wanted. As an adult, he belonged to an organization called the Society for the Preservation of Dixieland Jazz, attended concerts and events, and over the years, met and built many lifelong relationships with jazz musicians. He had great respect for their struggle and was always recounting their colorful stories. To cheer him up all you had to do was put on some Dixieland music and he would smile, tap, and even sometimes dance or sing along.

Our Dad had a rough start in life, as many others did growing up during the Great Depression, in Pasadena, California. He idolized his sweet mother and looked up to his three older brothers as his only older male role models. As the baby of four boys, he was the mascot, the practice dummy, and partner in crime for their adventures. His brothers could razz him, but they always protected him and often shared their experience and advised him not to make the same mistakes as they had. He was an American citizen through and through, a Veteran of the Korean War, and he was very proud of his older brothers who fought in WWII, while he, being younger, was home consoling his Mother. Through their experience, he and his brothers developed a great sense of humor about life. They were all masters at sarcasm, irony, and sardonic humor making Holiday gatherings always entertaining. When we were out, he was always flirting with the ladies, telling stories, and making people laugh and they loved him, as we did, even though sometimes we couldn't figure out how he got away with saying some of the things he did.

He loved apple pie with ice cream and cheddar cheese, the color Blue, animals, children, and nature. He had several dachshund puppies, bigger dogs, cats, goats, and even helped care for horses over his years. He always enjoyed the wild animals, hummingbirds, deer, turkeys, and squirrels that he encountered while camping or that passed through the property where he lived for many years. He very much enjoyed the camaraderie and the scenery on fishing and hunting trips with family and his brother Dick, but left most of the actual hunting to his brother. These trips were the only time he would leave his work behind, slow down for a bit, take time to notice nature, and even take up a brush and paint what he saw. When he was with us, he always had time to have a conversation or play a game with his grandchildren and great grandchildren and got joy out of just seeing young children wherever we went.

Rest in Peace Dad. You will be missed.

In Lieu of flowers please donate to The Society for the Preservation of Dixieland Jazz

Donations go to scholarships for young musicians to carry on the Dixieland Jazz tradition.

Here's a link for online donations:

https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=H8JEFXRPUVC7C

Here's where they can mail donations:

SPDJ

P.O. Box 1354

Monrovia, CA 91017

*please include a note stating that the donations are in memory of my Dad, Gerald Mayfield.