John Frederick Mayer, Jr.

John Frederick Mayer Jr., 78, of Yale, VA, passed away on February 18, 2024, after successfully battling cancer, but unexpectedly succumbing to COVID-19.

John was born on May 31, 1945, to John and Mary (née, Kersey) Mayer in Richmond, VA. After graduating from high school, he went on to study chemistry at the University of Richmond. A year later, John was accepted into the United States Naval Academy where he graduated with a degree in general engineering and a minor in chemistry.

After graduating from the Academy, John served nine more years in the U.S. Navy on several ships and served in the Vietnam War. He then taught a ROTC unit in Baton Rouge, LA while completing his MS in environmental chemistry at Louisiana State University. John completed his final tour of duty on the last Mediterranean deployment of the aircraft carrier, The Roosevelt, which docked and decommissioned at the Little Creek base in Virginia Beach, VA in 1977. After meeting and marrying his first wife there, he moved to Montgomery County, MD and had three daughters.

In 1999, John married Diane Shanko, the love of his life. He and Diane later moved to her family farm in Yale, VA. In 2015, John retired from a career as an environmental consultant where he helped the Navy reduce the impact of noise from military vessels on whales and other marine mammals. Over the years, his favorite hobbies were skydiving (1100+ jumps), sailing, and skiing. He could fix just about anything and loved working on the farm. He also loved being a grandpa and having his grandkids join him on the John Deere tractor.

John is survived by his wife, Diane Mayer, his three daughters: Samantha Mayer of New York City, and Renée Thomson and Dana Mayer (Tripp Walker) of McLean, VA and by the mother of his children, Randy Jones Toll; his grandchildren: Ilea, Douglas, and MacKenzie Thomson, Willie and Owen Walker; step-children/step-grandchildren: Laura Faehner Reed and Heather and Heath Reed, Bryan Faehner (Susan Hamsher), Parker and Max Faehner; his sister, Frances Arehart (John) and his nephews, Mark and Steve Arehart.

Services will be held at the Yale Seventh-Day Adventist Church on Friday, February 23 at 1:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Puppies Behind Bars – Service Dogs for Veterans, First Responders, and Police.