Birth – 11/17/1928 Death – 1/7/2021
Estle Mayes, age 92, formerly of Byrdstown, TN passed away in the evening hours of Jan. 7, 2021 at Ben Atchley Tennessee State Veteran’s Home in Knoxville, TN where he resided for the past few years. His fight against pulmonary hypertension, Type II diabetes, and age related dementia necessitated a higher regimen of medical care than his wife, Allene, was able to provide in a home setting. She moved to Knoxville, TN and made her home with their daughter so that she could be close and visit him frequently. It was only as her osteoporosis worsened and the falls and fractures happened with more frequency requiring stents in hospital and rehab for herself and the appearance of the Covid-19 pandemic with it’s imposed visitation limits that visits were reduced. By that time Ben Atchley’s TSVH had become a place of familiarity and comfort. He frequently commented “how good they were to him, and they watched him like a hawk and the doctor would come by regularly to check on him. He couldn’t ask for any better care.”
Estle was born on Nov. 17, 1928 in Mitchellville, TN (now part of Portland, TN), the fourth (youngest son) of 9 surviving children. Times were hard then and attending public high school came with a cost so when he graduated from the “Fourth Reader” in the community one room school house he had to leave his formal education behind and find paid work to help support himself and the family. Early on this work consisted of farm work at larger area local farms and then as he came of age he went to Detroit, MI to work in the auto plants a short while before returning to Tennessee. He was drafted into the Army and served from Jan. 29, 1951 through Jan. 15, 1953 in the Korean War. While in service a large part of his duties included being a guard for the mail transported via train from government bases behind the lines overland to the sites near the front combat lines. After being honorably discharged he returned to Nashville, TN where he found work at Aladdin Industries and McDougals’ factories. During this time he met and married Lilly Allene Reagan on July 17, 1954 and they made their home on Park Circle Drive in Nashville where they lived when the first two daughters were born. At this time Estle made a career change and began employment for the Metro Nashville Fire Department where he worked and studied hard before retiring with a rank of Captain after 25 years of service. During his firefighter career Estle went back to adult education and earned his GED for high school graduate certification. He and Allene had three daughters that they raised in the Church of Christ faith. Through their marriage Estle (with some help from Allene) built three houses for their home through their 66 years together. They made homes in Goodlettsville, Tennessee where all daughters graduated from high school, then Dickson County, then Byrdstown, Tennessee before settling last in Knoxville, Tennessee.
He was a jovial personality who had a happy disposition and a memorable strong “guffaw” laugh. He enjoyed spending time with family, taking the girls to wade in creeks, go camping, or visit relatives. (Which he called “riding and eating bananas”, but as often as not included stopping for a giant candy bar of each person’s choice along with a bottled soft drink to enjoy along the way.) He also enjoyed spending some of his “off work” time going with friends and neighbors hunting at night, he enjoyed being the designated driver for neighbor, George H. Cate, Sr. and his son George, Jr. Being on the move, being able to eat candy from their pockets as they walked through the woods listening to the dogs run and bay, talking and laughing and not having to be quiet had much more appeal for him than the enforced stillness and quiet that fishing or watching television required.
Estle was one of 9 surviving children of Leslie John Richard Mayes and Ora Lee Henson Mayes of Mitchellville, TN (Portland, TN), both deceased. Siblings that predeceased him are: Hazel Compton (husband, Nolan), Nellie Poole (husband, Vernon), Odell Mayes (wife, Kaye), Madell Mayes (twin sister of Odell died in childhood), Hollis Mayes (wife, Reba), LJ Mayes (wife, Jewell). His surviving siblings include: Juanita Mayes Harper, Ivory Jean McCormack (husband, John), Glenda (husband, Richard – deceased). He is survived by daughters: Norma Stanley (husband, James), Mindy Pierce (husband, David), Myra Weatherspoon (husband, David), and grandchildren: Justin Danford, Amber Stanley, Rachel Stanley, Macey Pierce and Maclain Pierce, along with great grandchildren, Mackenzie Stanley, Madison Stanley-Mantilla, and Maverick Stanley-Mantilla, and many much-loved nieces and nephews and cousins spread from Tennessee to Indiana to Florida and states beyond.
A Celebration of Life will be conducted 2:00 Friday, January 15, 2021 with visitation from 1:00 at Forest Lawn Funeral Home 1150 S. Dickerson Pike Goodlettsville, Tennessee
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