Ned Mayo
Ned Henderson Mayo, 76, passed away peacefully on Oct. 29, 2012, at his home in Whitefish from kidney cancer. He was born Feb. 24, 1936 in Pittsburgh to Robert and Ruth Mayo, the oldest of three children.
Following childhood in Lancaster, Pa., he graduated from the Mercersburg Academy and from Georgia Tech, earning a degree in physics and a reserve commission in the Navy.
In 1960, following his obligated two years of sea duty he joined Armstrong World Industries as a research physicist and was assigned to the Pensacola plant. It was here that he joined the reserve crew of USS TWEEDY (DE 532) and made many of his lifelong friends.
During this period he designed a measurement instrument for the pulp and paper industry, for which a patent was granted. Following a year of active duty on USS TWEEDY, occasioned by the Berlin Crisis of 1961, he returned to Lancaster, Armstrong’s headquarters.
In 1964, having procured a regular Navy commission, he returned to active duty, serving aboard California-based destroyers and making four deployments to Vietnamese waters. While stationed in Long Beach he met and married Janet Marie Smith, an Orange County elementary school teacher. A tour at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., followed where their first child was born and where he earned his master’s degree in physics.
The Mayo family returned to the east coast in 1971 for the remainder of his naval career and the birth of two more children. Tours of duty included Washington, Norfolk, Va., Newport, R.I., and Charleston, S.C. He graduated with distinction from the Naval War College in 1977. His commands included the frigate USS GLOVER (FF 1098), the Charleston Naval Station, Readiness Support Group, Charleston, and the Mark 50 Torpedo Project.
He retired as a captain in 1988 and began teaching physics at Pensacola State College, where he rose in academic rank from instructor to professor of physics. During this second career he published two feature articles in a national physics journal.
Mayo was a member of All Saints Church, the Pensacola Yacht Club, the Pensacola Historical Society, and Hit ‘n Miss Hunting Club. He enjoyed sailing, motorcycling, hiking, skiing, and he occasionally wrote poetry.
He flew with the Pensacola Navy Flying Club and held a commercial, instrument FAA license. His passion was working with tools, and there were few mechanical, electrical, or plumbing projects that he could not tackle. One of his proudest achievements was the complete rebuilding of an antique player piano. For the last seven years the Mayos divided their time between Pensacola and Whitefish.
He is survived by his wife, Janet Mayo; brother, Robb Mayo; sister, Lynne Kaufman; son, John Mayo, of White Salmon, Wash., daughter, Jennifer Burrough and husband Steven, Whitefish; daughter, Cynthia Lindsay DVM and husband Eric, of White Salmon, Wash.; and seven grandchildren, Sam, Sophie and Jesse Burrough, Margo and Grant Mayo, and Lauren and Vivian Lindsay.
A funeral service will be held Friday, Nov. 9 at the Naval Air Station Chapel, Pensacola, Fla., followed by interment at the Barrancas National Cemetery. A celebration of life will be held at the Pensacola Country Club on Thursday Nov. 8. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Hospice, American Cancer Society, or your local animal shelter.