Judson Townes Mayfield, Jr. | Eastern NC Now

    The Rev. Judson Townes Mayfield, Jr., age 83, a resident of Portsmouth, VA died Sunday, July 20, 2014.

    A Requiem will be held at 10:00 am, Saturday, July 26, at Zion Episcopal Church officiated by The Rt. Rev. Peter James Lee. Burial will follow in the church cemetery. A reception will follow the service in the parish hall.

    Father Mayfield was born December 22, 1930 in Columbus, GA son of the late Judson Townes Mayfield and Marjorie Maxwell Mayfield. He attended Georgia public schools followed by Clemson University and he graduated from Georgia State University. Father Mayfield received a master's degree in economics from Duke University and received his master's of divinity from the University of the South at Sewanee, TN. In 1962 he was ordained into the priesthood of the Episcopal Church. He served Episcopal churches in Florida, Georgia and North Carolina. Father Mayfield was active in civil rights and community organizing movements throughout his life, and worked to establish day care centers and high-quality low-income housing in communities across the South, especially in Beaufort County, NC. In 1950, he married Dorothy Turner. They were married for 51 years until she preceded him in death in 2001.

    Father Mayfield is survived by his children, Christine Mayfield (Jim Morton) of Pittsboro, NC, John Mayfield (Sharon Whitmore) of Orange County, NC, Marjorie Mayfield Jackson (Bob Jackson) of Norfolk, VA, William Mayfield (Barbara Ann Mayfield) of Ochlockonee Bay, FL, and Sarah Mayfield Overholt (Marty Overholt) of Pantego, NC; his sister, Marjorie Mayfield Taylor of Thomasville, GA; his brother, Emory Mayfield of Tallahassee, FL; eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

    In addition to his parents and wife, he was preceded in death by his adopted son, Robert Laird; and his brother, Lee Mayfield.

    In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that memorials may be made in Father Mayfield's memory to Totsland Preschool and Nursery, 644 W. Old Town Rd., Belhaven, NC 27810.