Phyllis Mayo, former Times manager, dies of cancer

Phyllis Mayo, a former human-resources manager at The Seattle Times who played an instrumental role in developing the company's diversity programs, died Sunday. She was 63.

Ms. Mayo died of cancer at Bailey-Boushay House in Seattle, a day after her friends and relatives gathered for a celebration of her upcoming 64th birthday on Tuesday. Ms. Mayo, who worked at The Times from 1992 until last year, wasn't able to attend Saturday's celebration because of her health. But in a video tribute shown to her in her room at Bailey-Boushay, current and former Times officials lauded her life and contributions.

"When I think of celebrating your birthday, I think of celebrating a 4.0, Grade-A human being that you are," said Frank Paiva, The Times' vice president of operations.

Jim Schafer, who retired in 2003 as The Times' senior vice president of the Employee Resources Group, said of Ms. Mayo that when faced with the "most difficult or easiest of circumstances, what always floats to the top is your goodness."

In an interview Sunday, Schafer said he hired Ms. Mayo to develop a program to help employees make the most of their careers and personal lives.

Ms. Mayo held various positions at the newspaper, including Human Resources director and, most recently, Director of Diversity and Inclusion. Throughout her tenure, she played a lead role in promoting the hiring and development of minority employees.

"Everyone trusted her; they liked her," Schafer said, adding that those she worked with knew she could be trusted for her objective, thoughtful advice.

Carole Carmichael, assistant managing editor of the newspaper's features department, said, "Phyllis was special to so many people. She nurtured all who came seeking her help and handled the difficult challenges of her work with complete aplomb. Our friendship grew up around our love of the theater. I will cherish fondly the memory of many evenings at the theater as the curtain closed, the audience applauding wildly, and Phyllis exclaiming, 'Fabulous,' as the actors took their final bows."

Phyllis Alexandria Mayo was born on Nov. 24, 1945, in Montclair, N.J., the only child of James and Marquerite Mayo, said longtime friend Judith Stephens, of Lake Forest Park.

Ms. Mayo grew up in Montclair before attending the University of Maine, where she earned a journalism degree in the mid-1960s.

After working for several years in consulting and training, Ms. Mayo attended Harvard University and earned a master's degree in education in 1975. Ms. Mayo came to Seattle in the 1980s when she was recruited by a bank and then later joined The Times. She married James Adams, who died in the late 1990s.

Stephens, a businesswoman, said she formed a close friendship with Ms. Mayo in which they talked about their work and shared a special bond because they were African-American women living in predominantly white Seattle, Stephens said.

"She was a terrific friend," Stephens said.

Ms. Mayo was a past president of the North Seattle Community College Foundation's board of directors and assisted the Urban Enterprise Center of the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce, which provides support to minority businesses, Stephens said.

Earlier this year, she worked as the business diversity manager at the University of Washington's Business Diversity Program in Strategic Management.

Ms. Mayo's cousin, Virginia Mayo LaSure, who lives in Granite Bay, Calif., said Sunday that Ms. Mayo was a "trailblazer," the first in the family to attend college. She also is survived by numerous cousins in New Jersey and New York.

Services are pending, said Lola Peters, Ms. Mayo's executor. Contributions can be made to Bailey-Boushay House, 2720 E. Madison, Seattle, WA 98112; Leadership Tomorrow 1301 Fifth Ave., Suite 2500, Seattle, WA 98101; or North Seattle Community College, 9600 College Way N., Seattle, WA 98103.

Steve Miletich: 206-464-3302 or smiletich@seattletimes.com

The information in this article, originally published Nov. 23, 2009, was corrected Nov. 24, 2009. Phyllis Mayo worked as the business diversity manager at the University of Washington's Business Diversity Program in Strategic Management, according to the university. A previous version of the story named her a minority business-development specialist at the University of Washington's Business and Economic Development Center.