Matilda "Tilly" Mayeda

Matilda Catherine Mayeda, age 77, passed away peacefully in her sleep on May 27, 2024. She was born May 16th, 1947 in Parkersburg, West Virginia. She was the oldest of eight children. She is survived by 4 of her siblings, her husband (Ron), 3 children (Lorne [Lori], Hope [Chris], Tyson [Katie]), 6 grandchildren (Derrick, Kelly, Nikolas, Kevin, Caleb, Matilda) and first great-grandchild (Akeem).

Being the oldest of 8 she was responsible from a very young age to care, shop, cook and feed her siblings. These skills would later help her raise her family as well as serve her community as a leader and organizer.

Ron and Tilly (Matilda) met in Florida where Tilly was living and taking care of her siblings and Ron was stationed there with the Air Force. They married and had their first child, Lorne, and moved to Ron’s hometown of Campbell when Lorne was 6 months old.

While late in her pregnancy with her second child, she would begin her journey of volunteerism by volunteering to oversee West Valley JACL Track & Field practices. Her 2nd child, Hope, was born during this time.

She and Ron would join the Junior Chamber of Commerce (JCs) soon after and would help with many projects. She took on the role of JCette President with several of her own projects including running the cafeteria at and during the Santa Clara County Fair. She was only in her late 20s.

The family moved to Morgan Hill in 1979 and a year later her third child, Tyson, was born. As the children went through elementary school at Paradise Valley, the school lacked funding for the Arts so she helped begin the “Art Cart” program which was parent-driven, going into classrooms teaching the students painting techniques and Art history. She would do this for over 10 years well after Tyson moved to Junior High School.

During this same time, the kids would join the 4-H. And after a few years, she would be asked to take over as the 4-H Club’s Community Leader. There she would not only run the club with its many community events, but she also ran several projects, including Cooking & Food Preservation.

As the kids began to graduate out, Tilly and Ron would begin volunteering to help with the big festival in Morgan Hill, the Mushroom Mardi Gras (MMG). As the festival evolved in size and location, Tilly became the Festival Director and kept that role for 10+ years. And with all of their experience with the MMG, Tilly and Ron would help with the Morgan Hill Buddhist Church’s Spring Festival (the Haru Matsuri) as well.

Simultaneous to all these activities, the family’s main activity was Judo. Tilly was just as involved there as well. Ron was a Black Belt volunteer at his childhood club, San Jose Buddhist Judo Club. There they would help teach and organize club activities, such as tournaments, trips, fund-raising, dinners, and Food-Booths.

In 2004, her sons would go on to start their own Judo Club, Silicon Valley Judo, and like in everything they did Tilly and Ron would go above and beyond to help their children succeed. Tilly ran the club’s front desk and would help all the families on and off the mat with whatever they needed. She would take the role as the face of the dojo for 16 years until the start of the Pandemic.

In any of the activities that she became involved in, she would quickly take a leadership role. Not because she was overly assertive, but because she would never be afraid to say “Yes” when asked to help. Whether it had been done before or needed solving and creating, she was always willing to try and fill in anywhere someone needed help.

In all of her endeavors, it was important to her that it had a community-enriching purpose.

She taught her family and friends the value volunteerism and that it is worthy to give of yourself in order to help make this a better place.

Per Tilly’s wishes the family held a private service to celebrate her life.