Herbert Earl Mayr, 66, lovingly known to most as “Herb”, passed away, Friday, December 29, 2017, surrounded by his loving family.

Visitation: 10:00AM to 11:00AM, Saturday, January 6th at the Bruceville Community Church, 583 Old Moody Road, in Eddy.

Funeral Service: 11:00AM, Saturday, January 6th at the Bruceville Community Church in Eddy

Burial: Bruceville Moore Cemetery in Bruceville

Herb was born in Waco in 1951 to parents Herbert and Marjorie Mayr. Herb was the oldest brother in a large family consisting of 11 other siblings having five brothers and six sisters.

The family moved to Fairbanks, Alaska when Herb was a young boy. He spent much of his youth enjoying wonderland that is Alaska. He often talked of his experiences growing up around the natural beauty of Alaska and it making him feel closer to God. Herb attended Catholic schools from primary through high school and received an academic scholarship to Loyola University in New Orleans, LA.

It was while attending college that Herb had some of his earliest true spiritual experiences motivating him to change his major from physics to philosophy. He had a strong desire to understand what he believed to be the links between the physical and the spiritual world. In his studies he became fascinated with the writings of Dr. Young OonKim who had translated Sun Myung Moon’s “The Divine Principle” from Korean to English. Dr. Kim became a professor at the Unification Theological Seminary. This would prove important in later years when they would cross paths.

Upon graduation from his studies Herb was ready to join the workforce. He answered an advertisement in the paper that read “Would you like to work for World Peace?”. This led Herb to Austin where he met with the Unification Church in May of 1974. His new journey of faith and spirituality began here.

From 1976-1978 Herb began working with the Mobile Fundraising Team of the Unification Church. In 1977 Herb then began his studies at the Unification Theological Seminary in New York which brought him in direct contact with Dr. Young OonKim whose writings had influenced him in college. Herb would go on to graduate from Seminary in 1979. It was also in this time he would meet his future bride Shizuka Iwaki who was also involved with church activities in Philadelphia.

Upon graduation Herb began working with the church program CARP (Collegiate Association for the Research of Principal). This took him to Amherst, MA where he worked with college students and led the CARP Center there. The following year in 1981 Herb was led to participate in was called “Ocean Church” in Key West, FL which challenged him to experience working on fishing vessels and train with others.

It was later in 1981 when Herb began working with the the Youth Seminar for World Religion. This proved to be one of the most significant times of his life. He began traveling around the world preparing to lead tours for religious studies. After his travels and preparations Herb began leading groups of 120 students around the world to study different religions and visit the Holy places over a 40 day summer program. Herb worked on this program until 1986.

In 1986 Herb was asked to assist with the church’s new publishing house, Paragon House Publishers, in New York City. Herb worked as the treasurer for the newly formed publisher until 1991. It was during this time that Herb also attended Baruch College in NY completing his MBA studies in 1991.

Herb was moved by church teaching to return home at that time where he assisted in a joint venture in the construction business with his brothers in Texas.After assisting with his brothers he was offered the opportunity to travel to Japan to work with one of the English training schools in Tokyo. He would then return to New York in 1994.It was in September of 1994 that their daughter Elisa was born and they would settle in Nyack, NY for the next 9 years. Herb worked in several church businesses over that time doing accounting work forKahr Arms, and UV Sales.

In 2003, Herb and Shizuka decided to move back to Texas allowing Elisa to grow up around more family. They would settle into the community of Bruceville-Eddy where much of his family lived. Elisa would go on to graduate from Bruceville-Eddy high school and is soon to graduate from the University of Houston in Spring of 2018. His greatest joy in life was raising his daughter with his wife Shizuka.

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