Gussie Lou Mayfield

Gus Mayfield, of Waco, died peacefully Monday, February 13, 2023.

Visitation will be held Friday, February 24 from 5 – 7 p.m. at Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey Funeral Home. The funeral service will be Saturday, February 25 at 2 p.m. at Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey. Burial will follow at China Spring Cemetery.

Gus was born in Bosque County October 22, 1930, as the fourth of six boys to (Paul) Dillard and Maggie (Wortham) Mayfield. He attended primary school in China Spring and graduated from Waco High School in 1949.

When Gus wanted something in life, he grew it, cooked it, made it, or built it. One of the strongest and most beautiful things he built was his marriage to his best friend and companion of 71 years, his wife, Wetona (Cutbirth) Mayfield. It is impossible to talk about Gus without talking about Tona & Gus. To protect her nursing scholarship, they were secretly married in Oklahoma on January 25, 1951, just before he left for the Korean War where he served as a mechanic in the Army. Gus & Tona welcomed their only daughter, Andrea “Andy Carol,” in December of 1956. He spent 30 years in his career at Cameron Mills.

When he retired, he set to work building his dream home with his own hands. It took three years, and “when he drove the last nail in the last board, it was his.” Gus filled his custom house with three happy grandkids, huge parties, crowded holidays, fresh-baked Parker House rolls, giant vats of spaghetti, and neighbors playing 42. Their home was always surrounded by the things Gus grew: Frankenstein-grafted fruit trees, a pecan orchard, Tona’s flowers, transplanted oaks, and row after row of home-grown veggies.

Most of the stories about Gus will be about Gus telling his own stories. And when someone tells a story about Gus, they’ll tell it with a smile.

Gus was preceded in death by parents, (Paul) Dillard and Maggie Mayfield; wife, Wetona Mayfield; and four brothers, Paul, (Edward) Ed, (Eugene) Gene, and Pat Mayfield.

He is survived by his daughter, (Andrea) Andy and husband, Larry Chance; grandchildren, Alissa Davis and fiancé, Dan Riddle, Guthrie Davis and wife, Tana, Morgan Mayeux and husband, Evan; great-grandchildren, Layla Harrison and Finn Davis, and Riley and Beckett Mayeux; brother, (James R.) Jim Mayfield; and numerous nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers please make a donation to the Wetona Mayfield RN scholarship at Baylor, Scott & White Hillcrest, 100 Hillcrest Medical Blvd. Waco, Texas 76712.

The family invites you to leave a message or memory on our “Tribute Wall” at www.WHBfamily.com.