ARTICLE
By RUTH HAESEMEYER
Special contributor
Published: 16 August 2013 06:48 AM
Updated: 16 August 2013 09:41 AM
Before his death, Steve Mayberry and his friends and family members made
memories together at dozens of barbecue competitions. Now, they have taken his
hobby and turned it into a tribute — and a way to fight cancer.
The third annual Steve Mayberry Memorial Cookoff will take place Sept. 6-7 in
Carrollton, where Mayberry, who died of colon cancer in 2010, grew up and spent
much of his life. The event will benefit the nonprofit Fight Colorectal Cancer.
“It’s all to save lives, so that he didn’t die in vain,” said Mayberry’s widow,
Suzan Mayberry, his wife of 26 years.
In its first year, the event raised close to $10,000 for Fight Colorectal
Cancer, followed by close to $15,000 last year. The cook-off has added
activities for community members over the years. This time, offerings include a
silent auction and food sales.
Jenny Allen, a longtime family friend of the Mayberrys and one of the event’s
organizers, said they hope to draw more competitors to the International
Barbeque Cookers Association-sanctioned event this year. And, of course, the
group hopes to raise funds.
“It’s just a way to make money to throw back in cancer’s face,” Suzan Mayberry
said.
A reason to fight
Steve Mayberry knew he had a strong chance to get cancer. Members of several
generations of his family had it, and he took care to get colonoscopies every
few years.
But what the family didn’t know was that Steve Mayberry had Lynch syndrome, or
hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer, a genetic condition that makes
individuals far more likely to get cancer, especially colorectal cancer,
according to Lynch Syndrome International’s website, lynchcancers.com. Lynch
syndrome cancers also spread quickly.
When Steve Mayberry’s colon cancer was discovered, in June of 2009, it had
already progressed to stage four. He died less than a year later.
“Nobody mentioned Lynch until he was dying, and that’s really what fuels my
fire,” Suzan Mayberry said.
She said she feels his death may have been prevented by the yearly screenings
people with Lynch are advised to have. She said she wants the cook-off to help
encourage people to test for Lynch if they have a history of cancer in their
families.
“Because we lost, I want to help others not lose like that,” Suzan Mayberry
said.
‘Cosmic’ connections
Steve Mayberry and his friend David Calvery were attending Germanfest in
Muenster in 2003 when they stumbled across a barbecue competition. The two
talked about what fun the event seemed to be, and when, soon after, they came
across a barbecue smoker for sale, they bought it and entered a competition with
friend Randy Dunn, and won a prize.
“We all thought that was cosmic,” Suzan Mayberry said. “So that’s how we got
their name.”
The Cosmic Cooks team competed together for five years, winning prizes and
traveling all over the state and beyond.
“We were really getting into it for a while,” Calvery said.
Suzan Mayberry said Steve Mayberry loved these times and eventually took almost
every Friday off so he could go compete at events.“He would say that his
favorite thing in the world was cooking barbecue,” she said.
Allen, Calvery’s daughter, said Steve Mayberry also appreciated spending time
with his fellow teammates and the family members who often accompanied them to
events.
“He really enjoyed the camaraderie and getting to interact with friends and
family,” she said.
Calvery said Steve Mayberry also enjoyed meeting the other competitors.
“He liked to hang out with the guys and gals and get out and see some different
places in Texas,” Calvery said.
Those competitors became friends, and because of those friendships, Suzan
Mayberry said she works hard to make the Steve Mayberry Memorial Cookoff as
enjoyable as possible for participants.
“These people, he loved them, and so this cook-off is like a party for them,”
she said.
Many of the first year’s participants were friends of Steve Mayberry’s who came
to support him, Allen said. Last year, the competitors continued their support
of Steve Mayberry — each of the winners donated their prize money to Fight
Colorectal Cancer.
“We thought that that was a huge honor for him,” Allen said.
She said she and the other friends and family members who help put on the event
are motivated by Steve Mayberry’s unexpected death.
“We want to help so that one day that doesn’t happen,” Allen said.
Suzan Mayberry said she has a wonderful team.
“Everybody’s heart is in it,” she said.
Ruth Haesemeyer, a Carrollton-based freelance writer, can be reached at
[email protected].
Years to treasure
Suzan and Steve Mayberry met at the University of Texas at Arlington and got to
know each other during an internship reporting traffic on the radio for Metro
Traffic Control.
After their marriage, the two moved to Austin for a while before returning to
Carrollton, where Steve Mayberry was raised, to start their own family. Their
two boys, Travis and Kyle, were born there, and though the family later moved to
Coppell, Suzan Mayberry said her husband still loved Carrollton.
So, when the couple found out about Steve Mayberry’s cancer, even though they
had just recently moved to Washington, D. C., for his job with the United States
Postal Service, they decided to return home to Carrollton.
Even during such a hard time, Steve Mayberry continued to prove what a wonderful
husband and father he was, Suzan Mayberry said.
“He was my hero, my warrior,” she said. “He totally knew what was happening to
him as he was dying, and he did as much as he could to make sure that I would be
all right after and the kids would be all right.”
Suzan Mayberry said he even had her do a dry run to the post office benefits
department, so he knew she could find it.
Suzan Mayberry said she felt that she and her husband could do anything
together.
“He was just the perfect person for me to build a life with,” she said, “and I
am honored, and I do treasure the 26 years that we had together.”
IF YOU GO
What: Steve Mayberry Memorial Cookoff
When: Sept. 6-7
Where: McInnish Park, 2335 Sandy Lake Road in Carrollton
Community activities Sept. 7 include a raffle and silent auction from 10 a.m. to
3:30 p.m.; food sales of barbecue sandwiches and hot dogs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
and awards ceremony at 4 p.m.
For more information, visit facebook.com/stevemayberrymemorialcookoff or email
[email protected].
 Steve’s
Story
The Steve Mayberry Memorial Cookoff is being organized in honor of Steve
Mayberry, a man who’s passion for his family, his friends and, of
course, his barbeque were an inspiration to all who knew him. On March
30, 2010, Steve lost his battle with colon cancer but left behind a
legacy of fun-loving and family values that will never be forgotten. It
is in memory of Steve that we set out to raise awareness and funds for
this cause that is now so dear to our hearts.
With a strong family history of cancer that could be traced through at
least five generations, Steve was always very proactive about his
health. Since the age of 25, Steve received regular colonoscopies and
check-ups. Despite this, in June of 2009, Steve was diagnosed with stage
four colon cancer. Specifically, Steve had Lynch syndrome, which is a
hereditary gene mutation that predisposes people to colon cancer. Men
with Lynch syndrome have a 90% risk of contracting cancer in their
lifetimes, which is overwhelmingly colon cancer. Lynch syndrome has no
cure and its diagnosis can be devastating to patients and their
families. With education, early identification and the future advances
of modern medicine, however, the effects of this disease can be
minimized. Through the Steve Mayberry Memorial Cookoff, we hope to raise
awareness of and research funds for this disease.
Steve has always been a true Texan at heart and holds strong ties to the
Carrollton community. Steve grew up in Carrollton, Texas, where he lived
until he left home for college. After meeting and marrying his wife of
26 years, Suzan, while attending University of Texas at Arlington, the
two eventually moved back to Carrollton to start their family and their
life together. Steve and Suzan raised their sons Travis and Kyle for
many years in Carrollton before moving down the road to Coppell, where
the family settled until the boys graduated high school.
Steve spent his professional career with the United States Postal
Service. A career opportunity with USPS moved Steve and Suzan to the
Washington, D.C. area, where, only a few short months later, it was
learned that Steve had cancer. As Steve’s hard-fought battle with cancer
was coming to an end, it was important for him to return to Texas, where
he could spend his final days with family and friend in the place that
he called home for so many years.
When pursuing his career with the USPS, Steve was following in the
footsteps of his father. Steve’s father, Mitchell Mayberry, had a long
career with the post office and served as the Postmaster of Carrollton
for nearly 20 years. Like Steve, the Mayberry family has a long history
with the Carrollton community. Aside from his career with the postal
service, Mitchell also served on the planning committee for Indian Creek
Golf Course, coached Carrollton Little League Baseball for 12 years and
served on the Parks and Recreation Board. In appreciation of his
services, the City of Carrollton named a field at McInnish Park in his
honor. The Steve Mayberry Memorial Cookoff will be held in view of
Mitchell Mayberry field, a tribute to both Steve and his father. The
Mayberry women also hold a strong place in the Carrollton community as
teachers in the Carrollton-Farmers Branch School District. Steve’s
mother, grandmother and aunt all spent their careers teaching the
children of Carrollton.
In honor of Steve, we host the Steve Mayberry Memorial Cookoff in order
to raise awareness and money for colon cancer research. And in his
memory, we set out to do it in typical Cosmic Cooks style, with a lot of
laughs, a lot of fun and a lot of delicious barbeque. |
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