Bobby M. Mayfield

Bobby M. Mayfield, aviator, farmer and cowboy, legislator, businessman, and lawyer, died peacefully November 18 at Mesilla Valley Hospice in Las Cruces, New Mexico. He was 87. Mr. Mayfield was born in 1924 at his family's farmhouse located on what is now North Valley Drive. A 1942 graduate of Las Cruces Union High School, Mayfield attended New Mexico Military Institute before joining the Army Air Corps in 1943. He flew B-24s out of southern Italy in the European Theater in World War II. While awaiting re-assignment to the Pacific War Theater, Captain Mayfield married Mary Ann Lee on June 8, 1945. He served in the 97th Bomber Wing from 1945 to 1953, during which time he flew B-29s and B-50s. He was a member of the original select crews of A-Bomb carrying wing of the Strategic Air Command under General Curtis LeMay. In 1951, Bobby piloted a B-50 from England to El Paso in a 26-hour flight, then the record for greatest distance without in-flight refueling. After resigning his Air Force commission in 1953, Mayfield and his family moved to begin farming life in the Mesilla Valley. He simultaneously pursued and received his Bachelor of Arts and Masters degree in Economics from New Mexico State University. As the Mayfield farming operation grew, and as Bobby began ranching operations in Northern New Mexico, he also was elected to the New Mexico legislature from 1961 through 1968. In the legislature, he served as chairman of the Taxation and Revenue Committee and as chairman of the joint Legislative Finance Committee. Representative Mayfield was instrumental in adoption of a plan that fundamentally changed and modernized taxation, administration, and spending in New Mexico State government. In 1968, Bobby and Mary Ann sold their farming operation in southern New Mexico and moved to Albuquerque so that he could enter University of New Mexico School of Law at the age of 45. After graduation in 1972, he practiced law in Albuquerque for a short while before returning to Las Cruces in 1975, where he and Mary Ann resided for the rest of his life. He opened a general law practice and engaged in various and diverse business operations, including real estate development, manufacturing turquoise jewelry, commercial leasing, and various retail operation. In later life, rather than retreating into a sedentary law practice, Bobby Mayfield became a litigator, including a national class action case by automobile dealers, cases involving denial of insurance claims, products liability, and medical malpractice. Mr. Mayfield remained fully active in his business and in the law until early this year when failing health intervened. Late in life, he recalled a favorite high school English teacher who made her students memorize poetry. His favorite lines than and throughout his life included the conclusion of William Henley's Invictus: I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul." Bobby Mayfield is survived by his wife of 66 years, Mary Ann, three children, Robert (Mary) from Scottsdale, AZ; Pam Carmody of Las Cruces; and Melissa Cairns ( Jack) also of Las Cruces; eight grandchildren Kelly, Karrie, Amanda, Robert, Catherine, Res, Sean and Ryan, and four great grandchildren Kaleigh, Mia, Kyle, and Katelyn. A celebration of Life service for family and friends will be held Sunday, December 4, 1 o' clock PM at the Farm and Ranch Museum in Las Cruces. PDF Printable Version