Joy Evyonne Mayfield
Joy Evyonne Mayfield, a strong advocate for education and lifelong learning, practiced what she preached through constant reading and travels to India, Europe, Madagascar, and Borneo. A South Fork resident for over 40 years, she died on July 11 at the Hebrew Home for the Aged in Riverdale, N.Y. She was 78 and had suffered long-term complications from a stroke 10 years ago, in addition to rheumatoid arthritis.
Ms. Mayfield was born in Kansas City, Mo., on Jan. 10, 1938, to Frederick L. Mayfield Sr. and the former Verna White. She grew up there, excelling in art and music at a young age, and earned recognition for her piano playing and also the visual arts.
She was married in 1956 to Arthur Evans, with whom she had two children, Heather and Brett. As a young mother she worked as an illustrator for Hallmark Cards in Kansas City, and painting remained a lifelong hobby.
The marriage ended in divorce. In 1965 she married Radh Achuthan, a professor whose work took him to Southampton College in the late 1960s and brought the family to the South Fork. With him, she had two more sons, Arjun and Lakshman, and traveled a number of times to Mr. Achuthan’s native India. They were divorced in 1977.
Ms. Mayfield worked at the Southampton College library in the late 1970s and moved to East Hampton around 1978. In the 1980s she earned a social work degree from Goddard College in Vermont. She worked primarily in private practice.
The happiest time of her life, her daughter said, was in the 1980s, when she accompanied her partner at the time, Noel Rowe, a photographer, on trips to Madagascar and expeditions to work with orangutans in Borneo.
She had a deep love of animals, dogs in particular, and “always thought that everybody should have a dog in their lives,” her daughter said. She followed her own advice and always had a cherished canine companion by her side.
After developing rheumatoid arthritis, she became a facilitator for Arthritis Foundation support groups in East Hampton and later in Hampton Bays.
To her six grandchildren, she was known as Nana Joy, and she was always interested and involved in their activities. Ms. Mayfield’s family was “the focal point of her latter years,” her daughter said.
She is survived by her four children, Brett Evans and Heather Evans, both of Southampton, Lakshman Achuthan of Manhattan, and Arjun Achuthan of East Hampton. She also leaves six grandchildren and a brother, Fred Mayfield Jr. of Lee’s Summit, Mo.
Memorial gatherings will be held in the fall in East Hampton and Kansas City. The family has suggested contributions in her honor to the East Hampton Library, 159 Main Street, East Hampton 11937, or the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons, P.O. Box 901, Wainscott 11975.