Lauderdale: Hilton Head driver who died at 100 loved travel, his island home, friends say

Life was an adventure for Gene Mayfield.

Friends say he went to Africa at 91 years old by himself.

He took a trip up the Amazon River with a friend.

He played golf until he was 95.

And when he died Wednesday at 100, his tall frame was still straight and he had most of his hair, hearing and memory.

He died when the car he was driving ran off the road near his Hilton Head Island home. The cause of death was not known Thursday.

S.C. Highway Patrol Lance Cpl. Hannah Wimberly said Mayfield was driving a 2005 Dodge Magnum that went off the left side of Birdsong Way in Hilton Head Plantation and struck a tree around 2:10 p.m. Wimberly said his driver's license and vehicle tag were expired.

Much of the reaction to the news online centered on the issue of aged drivers.

But those who knew Mayfield saw a bigger picture.

"He loved this world and wanted to know everything about it," said his travel agent, Julie Roman of Island Travel. "He had a hunger for knowledge about nature, and a love of nature like no other."

He wanted to see the whales, not the ballrooms.

"He was all about the substance, not fluff," Roman said.

He traveled to Australia, New Zealand, all of South America, Russia, Costa Rica, Norway, the Baltics.

Gene and Winifred Mayfields were considered among the early settlers of Moss Creek Plantation, which was launched in 1973 near the bridge to Hilton Head. "Winnie" Mayfield, who died in 2004, was an animal lover who liked to walk her German shepherd Wolf around their new Lowcountry home.

The Mayfields moved south when he retired as lead attorney for the Pet Milk Co. of St. Louis, said his best friend, Bob Harding. Mayfield's father had also been an attorney in St. Louis.

"He bought two lots so he could use one for a garden," Harding said.

An electric fence kept the deer out of his corn, beans and tomatoes.

Mayfield had a boat and loved to fish the inshore waters near Moss Creek and smoke his catch for dinner.

And he played golf two or three times a week until five years ago.

His friends don't remember him ever being sick. They say he didn't look a day over 70, and fondly recall his 90th birthday party at the Bostwick House in Moss Creek.

"I saw him a week and a half ago and he said, 'I'm going to have a dinner party and you're coming,' " said Mary Ellen Hannan of Moss Creek.

Mayfield served a term as president of the homeowners' association in Moss Creek.

"He was such a nice man," said former longtime general manager Cliff Charnes. "He always tried to act so gruff, but he was really quite a happy guy."

Mayfield and Harding met on the golf course, where Mayfield would squawk back at the crows. They had lunch together every Wednesday and Saturday for years. They often compared notes on all the travel they had to do for their jobs back in the real world.

Mayfield moved to The Cypress on Hilton Head about four years ago. A son from California was due there on Thursday. Another son is in Africa.

"People could only dream of living his life," Roman said.

Follow columnist and senior editor David Lauderdale at twitter.com/ThatsLauderdale and facebook.com/david.lauderdale.16.

This story was originally published November 12, 2015 at 4:59 PM with the headline "Lauderdale: Hilton Head driver who died at 100 loved travel, his island home, friends say."