Web K. Mays

  General Notes:

Web K. "W.K." Mays passed away peacefully on Sunday, Oct. 13, 2019, at his home in Temple. He was born Nov. 30, 1938, in Williams Ranch near Mullin, to Jesse Marion Mays and Lela Karnes Mays.

He met Jean Courington Mays in Fort Belvoir, Va., when he was in the U.S. Army, and they were married on June 27, 1964, in Parrish, Ala. They celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary this year. They were members of the Center City Baptist Church.

Soon after graduating from Goldthwaite High School in 1958, Web went to work for General Dynamics in Fort Worth on the Convair B-58 Hustler project. Web worked for Texas State Technical College in Sweetwater as the Diesel Mechanics Program Chair, retiring in 1985. He also worked as a rancher in Goldthwaite, as a substitute school teacher at Star High School, and as a chair of the board of directors of the Goldthwaite Housing Authority. He earned a bachelor's degree in economics in 1969, and a master's degree in public administration in 1979 at Tarleton State University.

Web loved his country and served in the U.S. Army and the National Guard before joining the Naval Reserves in 1964, where he had duty stations in Bermuda, Spain, Hawaii, and Korea. He retired from his military service in 1988, after 32 years.

Web was a dedicated Mason for over 60 years, and was an endowed member of the Goldthwaite Masonic Lodge No. 694, where he served as a Past Master. He received the Golden Trowel Award, one of the highest honors of Texan freemasonry, for his devout dedication to the Lodge. He was also a Past Master of Mullin Masonic Lodge No. 806. He was a past Worthy Patron of Goldthwaite Chapter No. 909 Order of the Eastern Star and a member of the San Saba Chapter No. 191 Order of the Eastern Star. He was a 50-year member of the San Saba Scottish Rite Masons of Burnet, Moslah Shriners of Fort Worth, and the Heart of Texas Shrine Club in Brownwood.

He was a lifelong HAM radio operator and loved spending hours at a time talking to people around the world who knew him by his call sign, AA5NZ. He and his wife were charter members of the Goldthwaite Amateur Radio Club and loved participating in the annual Field Day and always had a portable station at the Goldthwaite Goat Cook-off in the park.

He is survived by his wife; son and daughter-in-law, Jess and Melissa Mays of San Angelo; daughter and son-in-law, Christi Mays and Paul Howell of Belton; grandchildren, Hunter and Keller Myers, Mia Mays, Jordan Mays, and Travis, Luke, Mark and Lindsey Howell.

Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 18, 2019, at Stacy-Wilkins Funeral Home. Funeral services are at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019, followed by burial at Goldthwaite Memorial Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family wishes donations to be made to the Goldthwaite Masonic Lodge No. 694, PO Box 684, Goldthwaite, TX, 76844. ¹

Web married Jean Marie Courington, daughter of Paul Albert Courington and Juanita Thomas.