Marvin Lee Mays

Marvin Lee Mays was born on April 26, 1930 in Richland Springs, TX. Shortly after, his parents moved to Aspermont,TX, where he spent his youth and adolescence. His father, Clarence Edward Mays, owned a tailor shop in the small town and his mother, Lois Laverne Smith Mays stayed at home and took care of him. It was from her that he acquired his deep and devout faith in Christianity which he studied, used, and trusted his entire life. He was introduced to classical music at a very early age by one of his teachers and developed a lifelong love and passion for it. He spent most of his summers during his teen years helping out in his father's shop, learning how to sew and the best quality in menswear. In high school, he was introduced to classic English prose, poetry, and literature and southwest United States history, another two interests he developed lifelong love and admiration for. These particular interests led him to pursue four majors in four years at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, TX. He knew he wanted to teach and he was very interested in biology, but was so interested in the other two areas, he took additional coursework in both of them. When it came towards the end of his undergradute studies, he found that he needed just a few more credits to complete the two other majors and went ahead and completed them. He started work on his master's degree but joined the army for two years before completing the degree. For the first year in the army he worked in the lab at the local base and the second year he was stationed in the New York City lab. While in New York in his free time he did everything he could in the city while he was there, particularly art museums and Broadway productions. He thoroughly enjoyed and was extremely grateful for his time in New York, but was ready to come home. Upon arriving home, he was informed that there was a teaching position available at the high school in Jayton, TX, just 30 minutes away from Aspermont. He applyed for and got the job and taught there for a couple of years. One of his students was Beth Harrison. They began dating while she was still in high school and was still one of his students. The were married in 1958, after she graduated from high school. They were married for 22 years and had one son, David Harrison Mays. Marvin went back to finish his master's degree at the University of Oklahoma. He began work on a doctorate, but never finished for reasons of principle. He began teaching at the University of Central Oklahoma and stayed there for over 40 years. His primary interest in his teaching was for his students and he went of his way to help them in any way he could. He helped a tremendous number of students over the course of his career and touched many lives in the process. There are countless accounts from former students of how many of them he helped with a complex subject, how thorough he was, how passionate he was, and how much energy he had. The most common and biggest complement he received was that he made biology interesting and easier to understand for people who had no interest in the subject. In 1980 Beth was diagnosed with brain cancer at age 39 and died at age 40. After her death, Marvin, in his complete and total love and devotion to her, never remarried and raised David as a single father. This was no easy task, but Marvin enjoyed and cherished every single moment of it and left David with a deep love, admiration, respect, honor, and understanding of and for him. Once David was old enough, they began traveling and went to a number of places in Europe and to Australia, all trips that Marvin enjoyed tremendously and had very fond memories of for the rest of his life. He retired from teaching full time at age 65 and taught part time or adjunct until he was 78. This was a wonderful transition for him, as he could devote his full energy with work to teaching, which he always loved to do and never stopped loving. Age and declining health kept him from teaching the last year of his life and he passed away on the morning of Oct 7, 2009, at 9:15am without pain, very quickly, and with his son by his side. He is now with his wife again. He was a tremendous husband, father, teacher, colleague, friend, and person to so many people and he will be greatly missed by countless. Funeral services will begin with a ceremony at the Y-Chapel of Song on the University of Central Oklahoma's campus at 2:00pm on Wed, Oct 14, 2009, and will conclude with a graveside service at the Jayton Cemetary in Jayton, TX, on Thurs Oct 15, 2009 also at 2:00pm.  Public viewings will be at Corbett Funeral Service, Mon, Oct 12, and Tues, Oct 13, from 9:00am to 7:00pm and at the Y-Chapel on Wed, Oct 14, from 12:00pm to 2:00pm. To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Marvin Lee Mays please visit our Sympathy Store.