Pastor Jonathan Hayes speaks about the impact Habersham County SRO Patrick Mayfield had on people’s lives during his funeral on July 13, 2019, at Habersham Central High School.
“There’s a Patrick-shaped hole in our hearts.”
With those words, Habersham County Sheriff Joey Terrell summed up what many in the community have been feeling since hearing about the death of Habersham Deputy Patrick Mayfield on July 5.
Today they had a chance to say goodbye. People stopped and stood along the highways as dozens of patrol cars from local and state law enforcement agencies escorted Mayfield’s body into Habersham for the funeral. The procession arrived in Mt. Airy as storm clouds gathered overhead. As the hearse carrying Officer Mayfield’s body passed under the flag firefighters draped over Highway 197, lightning struck in the distance but it did not rain.
Inside Habersham Central High School, around 300 people gathered for what was more a celebration of life than a mourning of death.
While there were tears, there were also smiles and laughter as family and friends shared stories about the man whose stature (he was 6’5″) was matched only by the size of his heart.
“As scary as that man might have looked sometimes he was a teddy bear,” said his son Devon Mayfield. “He was full of love.”
That love was evident in their stories of the things Mayfield did, not only for his family, colleagues, and friends but for the hundreds of young people he inspired as a School Resource Officer and coach.
Mayfield coached Little League and rec leagues for years in his hometown of Toccoa. He spent the past several years as an assistant coach for the Habersham Central High baseball team.
“He was passionate about the game,” said HCHS Head Baseball Coach Chris Akridge during the funeral, “but more than that he was passionate about the kids.”
One of Mayfield’s former players, Steve Cogswell, recalled how frightened he was when, as an 8-year-old Little Leaguer he first met Mayfield. “I was scared to death,” he recalled. Mayfield ended up coaching Cogswell through his first year of baseball and the next ten years after that.
The two became lifelong friends.
“When I was drafted at 8 years old I was drafted for life,” Cogswell said. “All those times after every game he told me he loved me.”
It’s a love Mayfield extended to people of all backgrounds. Pointing out the diversity of the crowd at the funeral, Pastor Jonathan Hayes said Mayfield “made an impact across color barriers.”
Making an impact
“Days like this are reminders that we did not come here to stay,” Pastor Hayes said. “We all have to leave here one day.”
He stressed it’s what happens between the time we are born and the time that we die that matters. He spoke of the hope Mayfield found in his Christian faith and the joy and inspiration he brought into people’s lives.
The pastor recounted the story someone told him of how years ago a police officer visited a classroom to teach the students about drug awareness. At the end of the class, the officer said, ‘Listen, if you ever need me, call 911’. One little boy took it to heart.
Hayes said at night when his family was sleeping, the little boy would call 911 to speak with the officer. His parents didn’t know what he was doing until about two weeks later when the police came knocking on their door.
“Well, that little boy was impacted by that officer,” Hayes said. The boy grew up to become a policeman himself. The officer that visited his class that day was Patrick Mayfield.
Hayes drove home the point, “You never know whose life you’re going to touch.”
In his 52 years, Deputy Mayfield touched many lives, that’s why especially today there’s a “Patrick-shaped” hole in people’s hearts.
