Gerald E Mayette

Jerry was born in Syracuse, NY, to George (Eddie) and Katherine (Kate) Mayette on November 7, 1944. He graduated from Marathon High School as a proud member of the Class of 1962. He married Clara Ann Puccio on December 2, 1967, at Little Flower Church in Hollywood, Fl.

He was a veteran of the Vietnam War, having served in the U.S. Army, and was awarded the Good Conduct Medal, Expert Rifle Medal, and National Defense Service Medal.

After his military service, he returned to his hometown of Marathon, Florida, where he began crawfishing and later became heavily involved in stone crabbing. He worked as a commercial fisherman, serving as captain and owner of Lady Clara, Inc. for nearly 50 years before retiring.

During that time, Jerry, Tim Daniels, and Gary Graves founded Florida Traps in the early 1970s, producing plastic stone crab traps for local fishermen. In the 1980s, they expanded the business by adding Florida Buoys, manufacturing Styrofoam buoys for lobster and stone crab traps. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, they amicably parted ways as business partners while remaining lifelong friends, and Jerry went on to operate the buoy business independently.

An avid outdoorsman, he purchased a farm in Quitman, Georgia, which quickly became one of his and Clara’s favorite getaway places. This was where he and Clara would escape to at the beginning of both turkey and deer season, a time he especially looked forward to. True to his nature, he transformed the property into a working farm, most notably cultivating Leland Cypress Christmas trees, among other ventures.

Out of all of Jerry’s many business accomplishments, he was immensely proud of being a founding member of Marine Bank in 1995. He proudly dedicated 24 years of leadership and service as Director of both Marine Bank and later Centennial Bank following its acquisition of Marine Bank. According to his peers, he was a driving force behind much of what happened at the bank in the Keys. He was a respected and influential leader within the banking community throughout the Florida Keys.

Jerry was an accomplished businessman. However, his greatest pride, second only to his family and being Clara’s husband, was the friendships he built throughout his life. He had lifelong friends, as well as those he came to know in recent years, spanning every part of his world, from his neighborhood community and walking buddies to banking, fishing, farming, and hunting world. His friends were truly his greatest treasure, and they meant more to him than any of his business accomplishments.

He was a life member of the Moose Fraternity, a 58-year member of the American Legion a 58-year life member of the Marathon Elks Lodge, where he held the distinguished honor of member #304, a charter member of the Mahi Shrine Club of Marathon, and a member of Masonic Lodge #323 of Marathon.

Jerry is preceded in death by his father, George E. Mayette; his mother, Katherine A. Mayette; and his wife of over 56 years, Clara Ann Mayette.

He is survived by his sister Carol, aka “Sis” (Jorge) Betancourt; brother and sister-in-law Larry and Lynn Puccio; brother and sister-in-law John and Michelle Puccio; niece Kim (Stephen) Martin and their children Braden, Cayce (Makayla), Cody, Brianna, Cory, and Andrew; and two great-great nieces, Joanna Mae and Clara Ann Cowan; nephew Jerry (Alicia) Betancourt and their children Noah, Olivia, and Isabelle; niece Ann Marie Ahearn and her children Mackenzie, Riley, and Grace; nephew Christopher (Leslie) Puccio and their children Ellen (Shane) Mayfield and Sara Jessup and great great nieces Gabby Mayfield and Morgan Jessup and great great nephews Leo, Laban, and Ira Mayfield and Elijah Jessup; niece Antoinette (Servi) Bonachea and her child Giuseppina (“Gigi”); niece Monica Anne Puccio; niece Sebastiana (Ray) Maxwell and their child Misha; and nephew John Edward (Ashley) Puccio and their children Mia and Dominic.

Viewing and receiving of friends will be at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, May 20, 2026 at San Pablo Catholic Church with Funeral services immediately following at 12:00 p.m. and Father Oscar officiating. Burial will be held on Thursday at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Davie, FL.

Arrangements are by Forest Lawn South Funeral Home & Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Florida Keys Hope Walk/American Cancer Society of the Florida Keys. Please contact Shane Messina at 305-481-0861 for details.