His precise and inquisitive mind were matched only by his generosity of spirit.  When Bill Mayor saw something mechanical, he would not rest until he understood how it worked.  If it was broken, he would not rest until he fixed it.  And when he saw how he could use his talents to help his loving wife of almost 54 years, his only son, his friends, his church, or his community, he wouldn’t rest until he did that either.

So it is perhaps not surprising that Bill did not rest much.  For approximately 50 years after receiving his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering cum laude from Ohio State University, he devoted himself, at all hours, to his professional labor of love as a facilities engineer at Caterpillar, where he helped design and operate the test cells where massive engines are meticulously examined for safety and operability before being shipped out to power our economy and society.  He honored this work with the seriousness it demanded.  The slightest error could jeopardize the functioning of an oil platform or the safety of a worker—and anyhow, it offended his sense of order for anything to go out the door if it was engineered to less than perfection.

Yet his commitment to making sure everything worked just right did not lead him to be aloof.  He shared his time and plain-spoken intelligence generously with generations of Caterpillar employees—both on the shop floor where he was most comfortable, and in the white-collar offices where the bosses knew they’d best listen to his advice.  It is no wonder that he was universally admired by colleagues, and that even after his retirement he continued to field calls about the latest problems in the test cell.  And it is no wonder that each time he left Caterpillar, they kept hiring him back.  Management had to keep learning the hard way what the shop floor always knew:  Bill Mayor was irreplaceable.

Bill’s commitment both to people and to the mechanical functioning of the world also permeated two of his great passions: target shooting and volunteer work.

He began target shooting in high school.  He was attracted by the precision engineering of firearms and by the exactitude required to train one’s mind and body to put a tiny hole at the center of a bullseye hundreds of yards away.  He was an enthusiastic member of the Wildcat Valley Rifle and Pistol Club and was particularly proud of winning the match in 2011 at the CMP Eastern Games.  As in other aspects of his life, he didn’t vanish into his passion but instead shared it with others.  He volunteered countless hours as a mentor and organizer for youth shooting programs throughout the region, sharing his treasured hobby with the community and helping to ensure that generations of kids learned how to shoot while also handling their firearms safely and responsibly.

Habitat for Humanity allowed him to do for the community the same thing that he did for everyone in his life:  as one family member put it, “he fixed something for me every time he came.”  He was a regular volunteer at Habitat for about a decade, where he was a fixture and a resource for all volunteers.  Helping build homes for those in need allowed him to combine his love for construction and engineering with his compassion for community members who needed a hand up.  And still, somehow, he always found time to do projects for those all around him, from his role of “Chief Engineer” for his son’s and daughter-in-law’s sailboat and redesigner of their new home, to building a bookshelf for his wife or the latest ingenious storage solution she wanted added to their camper, to maintaining the church that was so central to his life, to designing a new “catio” for a member of the congregation who needed an outdoor space for her cats.  These were acts of love for Bill, and he spread that love widely.

Last on this page, but perhaps first in his life, he was a pillar upholding the Christian Science Society in West Lafayette.  His faith guided and defined his life; prayer was a constant source of comfort and healing and a cornerstone of his marriage.

Bill is survived by his wife, Jan, with whom he shared his spirituality, his love of the outdoors, and his commitment to the community; by his son, Phil, who inherits and carries on his intelligence and commitment to others (albeit none of his mechanical aptitude); and by Phil’s wife Megan who has long been just as a daughter to him.  A reception for friends, family, and loved ones will be held at Soller-Baker Funeral Home’s West Lafayette Chapel at 1184 Sagamore Parkway West, West Lafayette, IN on Saturday, July 8 from 2:00-5:00 p.m.  A musical performance by loved ones in celebration of Bill’s life and to honor his friends and family will begin around 3:00 p.m.  In lieu of flowers, those who wish to express their support for Bill or his family are asked to make a donation in his name to Habitat for Humanity of Lafayette.