William "Ralph" Mayes

William Ralph Mayes, age 90, passed
away from natural causes at Brookdale
Meridian in Englewood, CO, at 3:37
pm on May 26, 2024.
Ralph was born in Mountain View,
Oklahoma, on October 19, 1933 to
Leta Mae Bottom Mayes and Johnny
Ernest Mayes. As a working family in
the Dirty Thirties, the Mayes’ packed
up and sought a better life, even
renting the shade of the tree in
Bakersfield, California on their journey
to Hermiston, Oregon, where they laid
down their roots. Always a hard
worker, Ralph got his first big break
when he was hired as a fry cook for the railroad. From there, his ingenuity and
dedication eventually helped him to land a position as a Telemetry Technician at
NASA, stationed at Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California. If NASA ever
needed a specialty part created for a plane, this assignment was given to Ralph,
with full confidence that he would come up with the perfect solution.
Ralph met coworker Mike Cahill in 1973,
and was introduced to Mike’s wife, Judy, five
years later. As the Cahill family grew with
daughters Katherine (1985) and Cassandra
(1991), Ralph became an unofficially adopted
grandfather to the girls. Upon Ralph’s
retirement from NASA in 1986 and
Lockheed-Martin in 1995, he dedicated a huge
part of his life to being there for his two
granddaughters, traveling to see them wherever
the Cahill family was located at the time. He
also spent a portion of each year caring for his
Mother in Hermiston, Oregon, then traveled to
visit family and friends in California and Oklahoma. Utilizing his immense talent
for craftsmanship, Ralph became the jack-of-all-trades handyman, helping family,
friends, neighbors, and all others wherever he went. In his later years, he settled
in Morrison, CO, nearby to the Cahill family; he cooked fried chicken dinners to
share with them, treated his granddaughters to all kinds of adventures, and often
looked after Katherine’s dog Taya (pictured above) who became his constant,
loving, and gentle companion in his last decade. Throughout his long, storied life,
Ralph touched the lives of innumerable people with his kindness, friendliness,
willingness to help anyone in need, and his bursting sense of humor. He had a
deep love for his family, enjoyed playing with dogs and waving at children, and he
was always ready to have a good time. A friend of the Cahills once said,
“Everyone needs a Ralph,” a statement which rings exceedingly true and will be
held forever in the hearts of those who carry his memory forward. His curiosity,
adventurous spirit, humor, and love, will be sorely missed by all those who loved
him.
To honor Ralph’s memory, the Cahill family has set up a fundraiser through
The Smile Train, a charity organization that provides corrective surgeries to
children with cleft lips and palates. Ralph had immeasurable compassion and
hated to see people suffering. He had a particular soft spot for children, and he
was touched deeply when seeing photos of children born with clefts. He always
said, "When I win the lottery, I'm going to pay for a thousand of those children to
get the surgery they need." Donations can be
made in Ralph’s honor at
https://www.mysmiletrain.org/
campaign/ralphmayesmemorial.
Ralph’s beautiful life journey will be
remembered in a Celebration of Life Ceremony
at Brookdale Meridian Englewood on Sunday,
June 30, 2:00 – 4:00 PM.
Ralph is survived by his sister, June. He
is preceded in death by his father and mother,
Johnny and Leta Mae, his sister, Lela, and his
brothers, Jackie, Johnny, and James. May he
rest in peace in the arms of God and his family.

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