David Clarence Mayo

David was born in Knoxville, Tennessee on April 26, 1940. He was the middle child born to Clarence and Hazel Mayo, having an older brother, Paul and younger sister, Sharon. David’s parents brought up the family according to Biblical principles having Jesus Christ as the Head of their home. David accepted Jesus as his Savior and Lord as a young boy of about age 8 and was baptized by his father. This set the course for the rest of his life until the Lord called him HOME on December 17th, 2021 at the age of 81.

Due to his father’s calling as a Pastor, the family lived in several different locations in Tennessee, as well as in Ohio and Southern California before eventually settling in Oakland, California in 1950.

In 1953, when David was 13 years old, the family suffered the devastating loss of their beloved wife and mother. His dad now faced the daunting challenge of raising his three children aged 15, 13 and 4 without their mother. During his teen years, he developed an interest in ham radio, operating as KN6KRO. He also had a job at the local PX grocery store. In high school as he was growing UP (6’7”), he was the star on the San Leandro Pirates basketball team.

On the night of March 8, 1957, David was in a tragic car accident. He was not expected to survive the night, but God had a different plan. He was in a coma for 100 days and remained in the hospital for exactly one year. Once home, he began the long and arduous path of rehabilitation. He sustained injuries that affected him for the rest of his life, leaving him with severe paralysis and deficits in both speech and vision and his ability to walk. His grit and determination allowed him to learn to walk again with a cane albeit with great difficulty. After several years, he was able to live on his own in the San Francisco Bay Area in numerous cites over the years though never being able to work or live a normal life as others.

David had always liked the Portland, Oregon area and eventually settled there about 1978 living independently, but near to where his father had previously resettled. David quickly became a familiar figure on the city streets taking buses and trains to get around. Being very social, he had many friends and enjoyed visiting restaurants, churches and college campuses witnessing for his Lord. The business cards that he enjoyed passing out identified him as:

“Ambassador for Christ” 2 Corinthians. 5:20.

Eventually, David required a motorized wheelchair to get around. Though he was never able to do many things that most of us take for granted, he accepted his circumstances as something God allowed for a purpose. “By my God, I can leap over a wall. As for God, His way is perfect.” Psalm 18:30.

David was predeceased in death by his parents, Clarence and Hazel Mayo. He is survived by his brother, Paul (Sandra) Mayo, and sister, Sharon (Timothy) Clarke. He is also survived by nephews and nieces Craig (Naomi) Mayo, Laura (Duane) Sullivan, Daniel (Amy) Clarke and Rebecca Clarke. He also has four great nephews and nieces: Cody, Abigail, Katelyn and Zachary.

During his final years, he lived in several care homes. The family greatly appreciates the many friends and extended family who showed much lovingkindness to David, giving special thanks to Ray Hornback who took him to and from church weekly for a number of years. Lastly, we give our heartfelt thanks to Bariso and Yetemwork Asfaw who provided such loving and tender care. After almost 65 years of living with his disabilities, on December 17th, his suffering ended when the Lord called David to be with HIM in HIS heavenly home.

There is a video of David that can be found here: https://youtu.be/gG9QoxOUk_g