(Seguin) — Guadalupe County is mourning the loss of a longtime lawman.
Eugene “Gene” Mayes who spent more than five decades in law enforcement serving Guadalupe County and the surrounding communities died Wednesday, Sept 23.
His career in law enforcement began in January 1974, when he joined the Guadalupe County Sheriff’s Office as a reserve deputy. He later became a full-time deputy in 1990 and went on to serve four consecutive terms as Guadalupe County Constable for Precinct 4 after being elected in 2000 and taking office in January 2001.
Even after leaving the constable’s office in 2016, he remained involved in law enforcement including serving as a reserve with Bexar County before returning to Guadalupe County to work with Precinct 2 Constable Mark Reyes.
Reyes says Mayes was much more than a fellow lawman. He says he was a mentor who had welcomed him as a young deputy.
“When I was a rookie with the sheriff’s office, close to 25 years ago, he was one of the ones that opened up his arms to me,” said Reyes. “He told me that if I ever needed anything, to just to call him or go by his office.”
Reyes says Mayes’ legacy will be the influence he reached well beyond his work in Guadalupe County. As a constable, he says Mayes became an advocate for the profession, helping shape policies and procedures and serving on boards.
“He was a pioneer in policy procedure and advocated for the constables here in the state of Texas,” said Reyes said. “He was on many boards with the JPCA, which is the Justice of the Peace Constable Association. He was a pioneer. He advocated a lot for the constables in what we do today.”
That service eventually earned Mayes the T.A. Vines Award from the Justices of the Peace and Constables Association of Texas in 2014.
His commitment to the community, however, extended beyond the badge.
Mayes was a longtime member of the Guadalupe County Fair Association, a life member of the Guadalupe County Sheriff’s Posse, a member of the San Antonio Livestock Show and Rodeo Ambassador Committee and served for many years on the board of the Guadalupe County Women’s Shelter.
Reyes says he remembers Mayes’ involvement with the Guadalupe County Youth Show, where he and his wife, Mona, supported young people through donations and sponsorships.
“He just had a big heart,” said Reyes. “Gene is truly, truly one of the good old boys. There’s not very many like him anymore, and he would give you his last dollar and the shirt off his back if he would.”
Former Guadalupe County Sheriff Arnold Zwicke also worked alongside Mayes during the early years of his law-enforcement career.
Zwicke says Mayes was someone his fellow officers could depend on.
“He was a great guy that took care of business, was everybody’s friend,” said Zwicke. “Just an awesome guy, a pleasure to work with, someone you could trust that would have your back. Gene and I worked together on the 4 to midnight shift back in the day. And, you know, somebody you could always count on.”
Zwicke says it was Mayes’ ability to connect with people that became his career superpower.
“I would have to say that Gene was a people person,” said Zwicke. “He knew how to talk to people and deal with people, you know, in the good times and the bad times, and could bring it to a successful ending.”
Among the most remembered moments of Mayes’ law-enforcement career came during a shootout involving sheriff’s deputies and a suspect on O’Daniel School Road in rural southwestern Guadalupe County.
Upon hearing the news of Mayes’s passing, Darren Dunn, the general manager for KWED and the Seguin Daily News posted a few personal memories via social media.
He shared how Mayes helped save the life of Chief Investigator Larry Morawietz during that shooting on O’ Daniel School Road.
Dunn says he first met Mayes in the early 1990s while covering the Kenneth Allen McDuff trial at the Guadalupe County Courthouse. The trial had been moved to Guadalupe County from Austin and involved McDuff, who had been released from death row before ultimately being returned to death row.
Dunn recalled that Mayes had a way of making people feel welcome, even during long stretches of waiting at the courthouse.
“I had a tremendous amount of respect for Gene Mayes. He was just a good guy,” Dunn wrote. “Gene didn’t meet any strangers, so he kept those of us reporters entertained during the long stretches of waiting– and there was a lot of waiting.”
Dunn says he later watched Mayes’ career continue to unfold, including the O’Daniel School Road shooting and his eventual election as Precinct 4 constable.
He remembered a conversation with Mayes during that first campaign, when he says the longtime lawman spoke emotionally about the circumstances surrounding the shooting.
“He pushed back tears as he talked about the burden of knowing that he had to take a man’s life in order to save Larry’s,” Dunn wrote.
Despite the gravity of his career, Mayes was also known for his ability to enjoy life and connect with people outside of law enforcement.
Reyes recalled that Mayes was an accomplished musician who played guitar and steel guitar and regularly joined other law enforcement officers and justices of the peace for jam sessions during state association conferences.
Reyes says perhaps one of his greatest gifts was the generosity and warmth that he extended to virtually everyone he encountered.
“Whoever Gene met was a friend for life,” said Reyes. “I don’t think Gene had not one enemy.”
Even after Mayes became ill, Reyes says he continued trying to stay active. Mayes had been working as a reserve with Reyes’ office for about six years and was still coming into the office and working toward completing his annual training until just a few months before his death.
Reyes last saw Mayes on Sept. 18, when Mayes was unable to speak because of his illness.
“I did tell him that I appreciated everything he did,” said Reyes. “I shook his hand and I thanked him and I told him that I loved him as a brother, law enforcement.”
Mayes leaves his wife Mona and daughters, Colinda Burns and Monica Polasek.
The funeral for Mayes will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday, 29 at Emanuel’s Lutheran Church.
Mayes was 76.