William Perry Mayberry, Sr.

MAYBERRY, William Perry, Sr., age 77, of Centerville, OH, passed away on Saturday, July 18, 2015. William was born on October 26, 1937 in Dayton, Ohio to the late Cordell and Muriel Mayberry. He graduated from Stivers High School in 1955. William was the past President and owner of Mayberry's Van and Storage, Inc. and was a member of First Baptist Church, Past Master of Riverview Lodge #717 (Millennium #779) F. & A.M., Grand Master of Masons in Ohio (2003)., Past Officer of A.A.S.R. Valley of Dayton, Bill received his Honorary 33rd degree in 1989, Past President of the Arabic Club, Dayton Sertoma, and past presiding officer of numerous other Masonic organizations. Bill was a devoted husband and family man who loved traveling, relaxing at his lake house and boating. He is survived by his loving wife of 58 years, Delores, children Victoria (Donald) Voehringer and William (Teri) Mayberry, Jr., siblings Connie Newport, Robert (Ruth Ann) Mayberry, James (Carolyn) Mayberry, Kenneth (Sheila) Mayberry, grandchildren Shannon (John) Barth, Lauren (Robert) Smith, William P. Mayberry, III, great grandchildren Jackson and Mason Barth, and brother in-law Raymond Shannon. Family will greet friends from 4:00-7:00P.M., Masonic & 33rd Ring Services at 7:00 P.M. on Wednesday July 22, 2015 at The Dayton Masonic Center, 525 W. Riverview Ave. Dayton, OH 45405. Funeral service will be Thursday 10:00 A.M. July 23, 2015 at The Dayton Masonic Center. Burial to follow at David's Cemetery. A special thank you to Dr. Gary Nicholson for his kind support and guidance. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Dayton Masonic Foundation, 525 W. Riverview Ave. Dayton, OH 45405 and the American Cancer Society. ~ Reflections from a friend: Terry Posey Most Worshipful Grand Master The role of the Craft has been called, and one Master Mason has not answered to his name. Our brother William Perry Mayberry Sr. has laid down the working tools of his Craft and with them he has left that mortal body for which he no longer has use. His labors here below have taught him to divest his heart and conscience of the vices and superfluities of life, thereby fitting his mind as a living stone for that spiritual building, that house not made by human hands, eternal in the heavens. Strengthened in his labors here by faith in God, and confident of expectation of immortality, Bill has sought admission to the Celestial Lodge above. We are gathered here this day to remember our brother, William Mayberry, who was born 77 years ago. But five days ago, Brother Mayberry entered that Grand Lodge above. As the Grand Lodge of Ohio, Free and Accepted Masons, we are gathered here now to memorialize our brother. Bill Mayberry was an active Mason, and proud of his fraternity. He served and promoted Freemasonry on every occasion, often participating in Masonic meetings around the United States. Freemasonry has always been a fraternity of vision and charity; a force for good in a world that would rob us of our dignity and worth. While the forces around us in our society would denigrate personal integrity, private and public morality, friendship and brotherly love, Freemasonry has always held these to be the cement that bonds any free society together. As we memorialize our brother, Bill, this day, remembering his many virtues and skills among us, may we seek to follow him by lives of virtue and benevolence, until that day when we shall rise to greet him in the celestial kingdom above." In 1988 (27 years ago) Bill Jr. and I were appointed to the Scottish Rite line. I didn't know Bill Sr. well nor Delores. One day at the Sidney Masonic Temple after observing Delores from a distance, I told Billy I have one word for your mom. He said what was that. I said "decaf." He howled laughing and said come with me, lets tell her. I said no.. I'm embarrassed. He made me walk over and said "Mom, Terry Posey has one word for you" I said quietly Decaf. She laughed and laughed and Bill just smiled. How was I to know that 27 years later this family would have such an imprint on my life. In early 2002, Bill had asked me to be Junior Grand Deacon, the first year of an 8 year line to be Grand Master. Bill called me and said that his dad had asked him to be Grand Tyler, a one year personal appointment as a Grand Lodge Officer. He asked me if should he do it. I told him my opinion: that if I could spend a year traveling with my Dad (who was by that time passed away) and my Mom (who at that time was suffering from Alzheimers), I would give everything I had. He agreed, accepted the position and travelled with his Dad all over Ohio. The relationship between Bill Jr. and his Dad was a joy to see. He got to see the love between his parents and the love the Masons in Ohio had for his parents. In 2012, the trustees held an appreciation dinner for Bill. Cheryl had just had surgery and I could not attend. I wrote a letter telling that I had been at the Reunion and looked at the Scottish Rite banner. I thought Bill made that happen. Then I looked at the $2 million renovation of this room and said Bill made that happen. The same with the hallway outside, the dining room, the air conditioning, the cleaning and tuck pointing outside, the parking lot and anything else done in the last 30 years Bill made it happen. I know of only one time Bill was ever mad at me. I had been unkind to a brother in a meeting. This was a long story and will not be told here. Bill told me he was unhappy with what I said, and how I said it. We disagreed but we were not disagreeable. Bill gave me opportunities that I could never have expected, nor thought I deserved. He appointed me Trustee of this Valley, appointed me District Education Officer and District Deputy Grand Master and Junior Grand Deacon. I took his place on the Ohio Masonic Home Board and as Chairman of this Valley. I have followed him in a lot of places and would follow him today off the Third Street Bridge if he asked me to. While Grand Master in 2010, I repeated the words of Bill Koon and said "the worse thing about being a younger man in an older man's organization is that you bury your friends." I also said "If you care about someone, tell them." One day after I gave that speech, Bill came up to me, shook my hand strongly as he always did and said he loved me. I said I loved him too. He was my friend. Bill knew what I felt about him and I know what Bill felt of me. Can you and your friends say the same? Bill is in heaven now and we are here at his service. This is not the time for us to grieve his death but it is our time to celebrate his life. He never wanted to see people cry. He wanted to make everyone happy. So at this moment, let us all think back and remember how Bill touched our lives. How he made us stronger and how good Bill was as a person. This is not the moment for us to shed our tears but we should all be thankful that we were given the chance to have known a man named William. Bill will forever be missed but I know in the right time, I will meet Bill again. Hopefully we will all meet Bill again and he will make us smile. To the Past Grand Masters of this jurisdiction: We have lost our peer to that Great Equalizer, death. He will no longer sit on the back row observing our Communications. He has met us on the level on the checkered floor. We will not greet him warmly with the joint experience of leading this Grand Lodge. We have lost our peer. To the Membership of our Jurisdiction: the first among his equals is gone. We may visit his grave, but do not weep there. He is not there. He is in our hearts and memories. He has gathered his working tools and parted on the square. As part of the 32nd degree, the Knight Kadosh said, and it could have been of Bill, this World is better because he has lived. In closing, let us remember our dearly departed Brother with the immortal words of the poet Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Work in every hour, paid or unpaid; see only that thou work, and thou canst not escape the reward; whether thy work be fine or coarse, planting corn or writing epics, so only it be honest work, done to thine own approbation, it shall earn a reward to the senses as well as to the thought; no matter how often defeated, you are born to victory. The reward of a thing well done is to have done it." We can say with certainty that our beloved Brother has heard the comforting words, "Well done, good and faithful servant. Welcome thou into the joy of thy Lord." So there is no doubt to anyone in the room: I still love you Bill." ~ The Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Ohio William Perry Mayberry, Sr. was born on October 26, 1937 in Dayton, Ohio, the oldest of five children born to Cordell P. and Muriel M. Mayberry. Brother Mayberry attended the Dayton Public Schools, graduating from Stivers High School in 1955. Following graduation he went to work for his father at Mayberry's Van & Storage, Inc., becoming President in 1975 and Chairman in 1995. He had been actively involved in the business for over 50 years. M. W. Brother Mayberry served as President of the Dayton Movers Association in 1968 and 1979. He was President of the Ohio Movers and Warehousemen's Association in 1985 and 1986, and in 1992 was elected to The Ohio Movers and Warehousemen's Association Hall of Fame. M. W. Brother Mayberry had been a long time member of the American Moving and Storage Association, Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Dayton Better Business Bureau. M. W. Brother Mayberry married Delores May Shannon on March 2, 1957, and they were blessed with two children. Victoria Lynn Voehringer, and her husband Brother Donald Voehringer, have one daughter, Shannon (John) Barth. Right Worshipful Brother William P. Mayberry, Jr., and his wife Teri Sullivan have two children, Lauren (Robert) Smith and William P. Mayberry III. They also have two great grandchildren, Jackson and Mason Barth. The Mayberry's are members of First Baptist Church in Dayton, Ohio. M. W. Brother Mayberry was a devoted Mason and family man, married to his wife for 58 years. He loved traveling, relaxing at his lake house and boating. M. W. Brother Mayberry was raised a Master Mason on June 19, 1967 in Riverview Lodge, No. 717. He served as Worshipful Master in 1979. In the year 2000 Riverview and three other Lodges consolidated, to become Millennium Lodge No. 779. M. W. Brother Mayberry became a member of Mt. Moriah Chapter No. 230, Royal Arch Masons in 1975; Silver Trowel Council, No 141, Royal and Select Masons in 1976; and Reed Commandery, No.6, Knights Templar in 1976. M. W. Brother Mayberry joined the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite in the Valley of Dayton in 1967 and was Coroneted a Thirty-Third Degree Mason on August 29, 1989. He was a member of Thomas Smith Webb Council No. 57, Allied Masonic Degrees, serving as Sovereign Master in 1997 and the Red Cross of Constantine, Holy Grail Conclave, serving as Puissant Sovereign in 2001. He was also a member of Antioch Shrine in Dayton, the Past Masters Club, the Royal Order of Jesters, Dayton-Victory Chapter, No. 594, Order of Eastern Star; the Royal Order of Scotland, Miami Valley York Rite College, and Irish Council No. 67, Knight Masons. In 1998 he was made a Knight Commander of the Temple, Grand Encampment of Knights Templar of the USA. In 1999, he received the Honorary Legion of Honor designation from the Order of DeMolay. M. W. Brother Mayberry served as a Trustee on the Ohio Masonic Home Board and was Chairman of the Executive Committee, A. A. S. R., Valley of Dayton. M. W. Brother Mayberry served the Grand Lodge of Ohio as a District Deputy Grand Master in the Second Masonic District in 1995. He was appointed Grand Tyler of the Grand Lodge for 1988-89. He was appointed Junior Grand Deacon of the Grand Lodge of Ohio by Most Worshipful Brother Neil M. Smalley on October 21, 1995. He was subsequently appointed Senior Grand Deacon in 1996, Grand Marshal ill 1997, and Grand Orator in 1998. He was elected Junior Grand Warden in 1999, Senior Grand Warden in 2000, and Deputy Grand Master in 2001. On October 19, 2002, Brother Mayberry was installed as Grand Master of Masons in Ohio. As a token of respect to our departed friend and Brother, it is ordered that the altar of each Subordinate Lodge be draped in mourning for a period of sixty days from this date. -Steven E. Cokonougher Grand Master

Funeral Home:
Kettering Routsong Funeral Home
2100 E. Stroop Rd.
Kettering, OH
US 45429