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The San Diego Human Dignity Foundation (SDHDF) received a bequest of $150,000 from the estate of Marvin Mayeux in 2005. This generous gift was the largest single gift in the SDHDF's eight-year history and the first legacy gift SDHDF has received. Mr. Mayeux's gift was added to SDHDF's general endowment.
"The Foundation is honored and very grateful to
be the beneficiary of this significant gift," said David Pierce,
former SDHDF Executive Director. "Mr. Mayeux has left San Diego's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community a wonderful legacy."
"The Foundation is grateful for Mr. Mayeux's generosity and foresight," said Roderick Reinhart, 2003-2005 SDHDF Board President. "His gift will help future generations of our LGBT family."
Mayeux, a Hillcrest resident who passed away in February 2005 at the age of 82, served as a volunteer and board member for a number of San Diego nonprofit organizations, including the AIDS Foundation San Diego, San Diego Hospice, Legal Action Advocates, Auntie Helens, Disabled Veterans of America, the Alzheimer's Foundation and the Parkinson's Disease Foundation.
A native of Louisiana, Mayeux grew up in the rich culture and tradition of Cajun Country. At family gatherings he spoke Cajun French and cultivated a life-long interest and talent in foreign languages. In 1943, Mayeux joined the U.S. Army. He was stationed overseas on the coast of Brazil during WWII. After the war, he attended college at Thunderbird Academy in Phoenix, Arizona, where he studied languages. By this time, Mayeux was able to communicate in four foreign languages, Portuguese, French, Spanish and German. He also studied Polish, Italian, Japanese and Russian. After reenlisting in the army, he was stationed on the French island of Martinique, in Washington D.C. and in Paris, France.
In Paris, he worked at SHAPE, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, under the command of General Eisenhower. Mayeux never forgot the day he actually met "Ike" in person and let the famous General borrow his copy of the Washington Post. After his service in Paris, Mayeux lived in Washington, DC and worked for the American Institute of Architects in a unique historical building in D.C. known as The Octagon.
In the 1960s, he moved to San Francisco and continued working in the Architectural field. Later, he became a postal worker for the city and worked in that capacity until his retirement. Marvin moved to San Diego after the death of his companion from AIDS in the mid 1980s.
During the last 20 years of his life, Marvin lived in Hillcrest and entertained many friends who would often visit. Gourmet cooking was a passion in his life and his many travels added creativity and diversity to the food he loved to serve his guests. He was truly a southern gentleman with a pleasing and calming personality that drew people to him.
Marvin died on February 13, 2005 at San Diego Hospice after a courageous battle with Parkinson's disease. Even through his struggle with the disease, his positive and upbeat attitude was an inspiration to all. His gentle spirit will live on in his generous gift to SDHDF and the LGBT community.
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