Joe Ray Mayes

Joe Ray Mayes of McKinney, Texas, beloved father, grandfather, brother and friend, passed away on Friday, January 13, 2017, at the age of 71. He was born September 4, 1945 in Dallas, Texas to Fred and Helen (Odell) Mayes.

Joe is a 1963 graduate of Plano High School where he played baseball and football and was a member of the Math Club. He attended Sul Ross State College in Alpine before enlisting with the United States Marine Corp in October, 1964. He served in Vietnam as a Sergeant and earned a National Defense Service Medal, a Vietnam Campaign Medal, the USMC Good Conduct Medal, and twice earned a Vietnam Service Medal.

Joe retired from Nortel after many years as a support engineer where he authored numerous training courses and traveled the world teaching them. He was proud of his numerous achievements and awards. Often known as “Coach Joe,” he coached his sons and hundreds of others in baseball and soccer in Garland, Texas in the 1970s and 80s. He was also a member of Axe Memorial United Methodist Church in Garland. Exceptionally funny, kind, and giving, Joe was always ready to share a smile and a joke with anyone. He loved playing baseball but enjoyed watching every sport, especially wrestling, and collected sports memorabilia, including anything involving the Texas Rangers or the Dallas Cowboys.

A hero to many, Joe was profoundly generous and quietly went out of his way to encourage and help anyone who was lucky enough to know him. We will miss his presence, his generosity, his humor, and his humility. We cannot yet envision a world without him.

His parents preceded him in death. Joe is survived by his daughter DeAnna Mayes and two sons, James Mayes and his wife, Laura, and their son, Harry; Patrick Mayes and his wife, Heather, and their daughters, Lorne and Ella; sister Jane Ann Rushing and her husband, Gene, and their two sons, Michael and Eric.

A Celebration of Joe’s life will be held at 11:00 AM, Saturday, February 18, at Axe Memorial United Methodist Church, 1700 W. Kingsley Road, Garland, Texas 75041. The Reverend David Blackmon officiating. Interment will follow in Plano Mutual Cemetery, Plano, Texas.

Arrangements by Ted Dickey Funeral Home, Plano, TX, 972-424-4511, http://www.teddickeyfuneral.com/