F. Mayo Sanders, age 87, of Fremont, passed away on Thursday, April 6, 2023.
He was born on Sept. 10, 1935, in Van Buren, Arkansas.
Mayo graduated from Ste. Genevieve High School in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, in 1953. He later graduated from Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau, Missouri. He received his master’s degree from George Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri.
He married Suzanne Greasby on Dec. 23, 1966, in Detroit, Michigan.
Mayo was the head of Vistula Head Start along with serving as principal of Fremont Elementary School.
He was better known for his public service to Fremont and Steuben County. He served on the Fremont Town Board, then Fremont Town Council, before he was selected to fill a vacancy on the Steuben County Board of Commissioners.
Mayo went on to win four full terms in office before stepping down and running for the District 1 seat on the Steuben County Council in 2010. He held the seat for one term before finally retiring from public service in 2014.
He was a member of Angola Elks Lodge, in which he served as state president, and also was a member of the Mizpah Shrine and Fort Wayne Scottish Rite.
Survivors include his wife, Suzanne Sanders of Fremont; a son, Christopher (Sara Peel) Sanders of Indianapolis; a brother, John (Janice) Samson of Ste. Genevieve, Missouri; sister-in-laws, Judy Samson of St. Louis, Missouri, and Jane Kio of Boonton, New Jersey; and several nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Frank Mayo Sanders Sr. and Evelyn (Stewart) Samson, and a brother, James Samson.
Private family services will be held.
Burial will be at Lakeside Cemetery, Fremont.
Memorial donations in his memory may be directed to the Indiana Elks Association, Cancer Research, 815 East Eddington Court, Bloomington, IN 47401, or to Shriners Hospitals for Children, C/O Mizpah Shrine, 1015 Memorial Way, Fort Wayne, IN 46805.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.beamsfunerahome.com for the family. Beams Funeral Home, Fremont, is handling arrangements.
Published by KPCNews on Apr. 8, 2023.