Greenville, SC - Bennie Frank Mayfield 97 of Greenville S.C. died at McCall Hospice House, previously of Westminster Retirement home on Tuesday, August 30, 2011.
Born in Spartanburg S.C., he was the son of the late J. F. Mayfield and Cora Littlejohn Mayfield and the husband for 65 years of the late Alpha Davis Mayfield.
He was an Army veteran of World War ll and an active member of First Baptist Church of Greenville. He was a past President of the Fellowship Sunday School class.
Mr. Mayfield was in the professional home furnishings retail business his entire career. He began with his father in the family business, J.F. Mayfield and Sons, a furniture store, in Cowpens S.C. In 1938, he joined the sales staff at Hammond Brown Jennings Inc. furniture store in Spartanburg where he started a profitable carpet department. In 1946, Mr. Mayfield founded Mayfield's Rugs and Carpets Inc. in Greenville S.C. He remained an active owner and president until the business was sold in 1986. He opened FM Inc, sales consulting company, in 1986.
He was a great contributor to the carpet industry, not only in Greenville but nationwide. He helped establish The Mayfield College for Professional Selling in Chicago, IL. He was an active instructor at the college which was sponsored by the Chicago Merchandise Mart. In addition, he was a contributor to Floor Covering Magazine where he wrote monthly articles.
Mr. Mayfield was the Greenville Chamber of Commerce Small Business Person of the Year in 1976. He was the first person to be inducted into the American Floor Covering Industry Hall of Fame. He was a founder and past president of the Retail Floor Covering Institute as well as an advisor for the Retail Council for the Merchandise Mart in Chicago. He was a past recipient of the
Floor Covering Industry Foundation Tribute and in 1986 he received the highly regarded John Beckwith Memorial Award. In addition, he received other awards in the flooring covering industry such as the Carpet Institute Award for Outstanding Merchandising Achievement and the Carpet Institute Award for Retail Merit.
Mr. Mayfield was the last surviving charter member and past president of the North Greenville Rotary Club. He served on the Advisory Board of South Carolina National Bank and was a member of the Poinsett Club.
Mr. Mayfield is survived by one daughter, Marilyn Mayfield Blackwell, two grandchildren, Frank Williams Blackwell, Lyn Blackwell Edmonds and her husband H. Burns Edmonds all of Greenville. He has two great grandchildren, Hunter Burns Edmonds and Davis Graham Edmonds. He is predeceased by three sisters and three brothers.
The family would like to pay special thanks to his wonderful caregivers, Marcel McNeil, Deborah Sloan, Shekeima Pope, and Patrell Palmer.
Memorial services will be held Friday afternoon, September 2nd at three thirty at the First Baptist Church of Greenville with the Reverend Dr. Baxter Wynn officiating. The family will have gathered for a Private entombment service earlier in the afternoon at Woodlawn Memorial Park.
Friends are invited to visit with the family from two o'clock until the hour of service at the church.
Memorials may be made to First Baptist Church of Greenville, 847 Cleveland Street, Greenville, SC 29601or the charity of one's choice.
Source: Greenville News
