Marjorie Florence Mayes died September 29, 2007 in Longview, Texas, where she resided.
Funeral services were held Thursday, October 4, 2007, at Rader Funeral Home Chapel, with Dr. Howard Mayes officiating. Burial followed at Rosewood Park Cemetery.
Marjorie was born November 11, 1926, in Long Beach, California. She attended Polytechnic High School and graduated from Pasadena College with a teaching degree in 1949. That same year, she married John Mayes and moved with him to Winona Lake, Ind., where she taught first grade while her husband attended Grace Theological Seminary.
Marjorie continued her teaching career when the couple moved back to California, also serving as the principal of Brethren Elementary School in Long Beach, Calif. in the 1960s. She ministered as a pastor’s wife in churches in Long Beach and Whittier, Calif., and in Sunnyside, Wash..
Marjorie accompanied her husband, Dr. John Mayes, to Longview in 1983. Together, the couple founded Grace Christian School as a ministry of Grace Brethren Church, and Marjorie served as pastor’s wife and as principal of the school. While she was much beloved in these roles, her family remembers her best as a loving wife, mother, and grandmother.
Marjorie is survived by her husband of 58 years, John, of Longview; their four children, Richard Mayes and his wife Sandy, Sharon Newlin and her husband Stuart, Annie Olson and her husband Ken, all of Longview, and Joy Dean and her husband Steve, of Indianapolis, Ind.; 17 grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren.
Marjorie Mayes had four sisters, three of whom are still living. They are: Helen Brown (half-sister) of Beattyville, Ken.; Frances Ashman of Winona Lake, Ind.; and Ruth Mosley of Scotts Valley, Calif. Marjorie was the youngest of the five.
Memorial contributions may be made to Missionary Tech Team, 25 FRJ Drive, Longview, Texas 75602. Checks may also be written and sent to the Grace Brethren Church, 800 Doyle St., Longview, Texas 75601.