Wetona Merle Mayfield

Wetona Mayfield of Waco, Texas died peacefully Friday, April 15, 2022. She was loved and respected by many people and known by several names: Tona, Tona Merle, Meme, The Boss, and Mrs. M. Her huge reach extended past her family to her friends, work colleagues, community, and society of nurses. Visitation will take place Friday, April 22, from 5-7 pm at Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey Funeral Home. Funeral services will take place at 2 pm Saturday, April 23, in the Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey Chapel. Burial will follow at China Spring Cemetery. Wetona was born in Bosque County on January 2, 1931 as the first of five children to George and Lola (Robinson) Cutbirth. She attended primary school in China Spring and graduated from Waco High School in 1949. She attended Hillcrest School of Nursing and furthered her education at Baylor School of Nursing specializing in OR nursing in 1952. Her best friend and companion of 71 years was her husband, Gus Mayfield. To protect her nursing scholarship, they were secretly married in Oklahoma on January 25, 1951, and “only had enough money for gas and a hamburger on the way home.” In 1956, they welcomed their daughter, Andrea “Andy Carol.” They filled their lives together with world travels, vegetable gardens, three grandchildren, and huge parties. The home Gus built for them was always open for hosting real family, extra family, nursing classmates, cousins, and friends for holidays, birthdays, reunions, and feisty games of 42. Wetona also built an enormous legacy with her career in nursing. At only 22, fresh out of nursing school, she was the Administrator on call during the Waco Tornado of 1953. She ran triage and organized the hospital’s rescue efforts. She became the first female Administrator and eventually the Vice President of Nursing at Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center – the powerful “Mrs. M.” She also coordinated the hospital response to the Branch Davidian Compound raid. “There was not any type of crisis she could not resolve,” per Richard Scott, former CEO of Hillcrest. When she retired with commendations from Governor Ann Richardson and President Bill Clinton in 1993, she couldn’t resist returning for seven more years as the Nursing Supervisor of the Hillcrest Clinics. Dr. Sandra Oliver, former president of the National League of Nursing surprised Mrs. M at her retirement with the National League of Nursing’s Centennial Leadership Award. In honor of Wetona, a scholarship award was established at Hillcrest: Wetona Mayfield RN Scholarship- for continuing education in nursing. A tribute to the Hillcrest Nursing School Alumni, she always enjoyed organizing their alumni reunions. Wetona is survived by her loving husband, Gussie “Gus” Mayfield; her 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, Riley and Beckett Mayeux; brothers, Berl and Ken Cutbirth; along with numerous nieces and nephews; and very special friend, Elaine Brown Seeber. But we can’t leave out the huge family Tona acquired along the way. She was a fiercely loyal friend who supported, traveled with, and threw parties for her cousins, friends, and nursing classmates all her life. After caring for her own mother, she looked after several “bonus” moms. She was a surrogate mother and grandmother to her nieces’ families, and at least a dozen “bonus” grandkids. Related or not, everyone was welcome at Gus-and-Tona’s. She is preceded in death by parents, George and Lola Cutbirth; sisters, Pat Raley and Kay Robertson; special aunt, Vera “Aunt Tom” Eichelberger; and nephew, Todd Cutbirth. 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 or the Baylor Scott & White Hillcrest McClinton Cancer Center, 150 Hillcrest Medical Blvd. Waco, Texas 76712. The family invites you to leave a message or memory on our “Tribute Wall” at www.WHBfamily.com.