Obituary of Samuel Mayo

Samuel John Mayo July 30th, 1937 – June 4th, 2010 A very loving and dedicated husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, brother and friend, Samuel John Mayo, passed away peacefully on June 4th 2010 at the age of 72, following a brief and courageous battle with cancer. He was at home surrounded by his wife, children, and grandchildren at his side. Sam was born July 30th, 1937 in The Dalles, Oregon to Samuel Lewis and Bernice Elizabeth (Hoopes) Mayo. In 1956 he married Catherine Prankard and they had five children. They later divorced and in 1968 he married Judy (Harris) Vandiver. Sam was a 1955 graduate of Olympia High School and attended Seattle University and the University of Washington. He went to work for the State of Washington Dept. of Licensing in 1957 and retired from Licensing in 1982 at the age of 45. He then started a landscape & lawn maintenance business (Aardvark Gardening) which he owned and operated until 2000. Sam loved the outdoors and enjoyed many fly fishing trips to Montana with friends. He loved plants and flowers and grew thousands of flowers at his nursery until 2007. In 2009, Sam took the opportunity to travel to Italy and Greece and taught us all that you could never have too much gelato. Sam was preceded in death by his father, Samuel L. Mayo; his mother, Bernice E. Mayo; sister, Francis L. Cunningham; brother in-law Robert (Mike) Cunningham; and brother, Rodger L. (Pete) Mayo. He is survived by his wife of 42 years, Judy, at the family home, sister Deanne (Cal) Dayton of Olympia WA, sister in-law Priscilla Mayo of Tumwater WA; his children Kim (Brian) Conwell of Rainer WA, Kelly (Kaye) Mayo of Olympia WA, Alison Sutherland of Olympia WA, Terri (Mark) Conwell of Lacey WA, Susie (Kenny) Callaghan of Lacey, WA, Mike (Cindy) Vandiver of Bothell, WA and Mark Vandiver of Atlanta, GA; grandchildren, Michael Olivera, Danielle Mayo (Matt Giles), Parker Mayo, Randy (Heather) Sutherland, Ryan (Kayla) Sutherland, Courtney Spradling, Katelyn Callaghan, Kendra (Adam) Miranda, Alison Merten, Brad Merten, CJ Merten, Zachary Vandiver, Garrett Vandiver, Christopher Vandiver, and Natalie Vandiver; great grandchildren Wyatt Giles, Walker Giles, Ethan Giles, Madeline Sutherland, Selah Miranda, and one great grandson that will arrive in August. Sam is also survived by numerous cousins, nephews, and nieces. A celebration of Sam’s life will be held on Sunday June 13th, 2010 starting at 1 PM at the Lacey Community Center. The address of the Lacey Community Center is 6729 Pacific Avenue Southeast, Olympia WA 98503. All family and friends are invited to attend and celebrate Sam’s life. In lieu of flowers, memorials donations can be made to Animal Services Shelter in Olympia WA. Please leave memories and condolences for family online by clicking "View Guestbook" below.