Glenn Mayeda

1951 - 2016

Glenn H. Mayeda

Nov. 2, 1951-Feb. 10, 2016

The Bay Area lost one of its unique characters when Glenn Mayeda died suddenly from complications of heart disease. He was predeceased by his parents Minoru and Elsie Mayeda, who lived in the Berkeley flats where they raised Glenn and his younger brother Robert, who survives him. Glenn attended Berkeley public schools and went to Merritt College, where he played on the golf team. He graduated from UC-Berkeley in 1973 with a degree in journalism. He started his newspaper career at the Richmond Independent, where he was a diligent employee who made many friends, including Allen Kanda.

After the Independent ceased production in the 1980s, Glenn joined the sports staff of the San Francisco Chronicle. He worked nights, compiling the sports statistics page beloved by die-hard sports fans. He used the two-fingered style of typing favored by many journalists of the time, and enjoyed smoking cigars, late-night meals at such bygone haunts as Polo's and Pam-Pam East, and cracking jokes with colleagues such as Glenn Schwarz, Bucky Walters, Al Corona, John Crumpacker and Pete Cafone.

Glenn took early retirement during the recent recession, living with his widowed mother in the family home in Berkeley until her death in 2013. He then moved into a cozy apartment in El Cerrito where he enjoyed walking in the neighborhood and bicycling along the East Bay shoreline. Children and dogs liked Glenn, who was never too busy to give them a smile or pat on the head.

Glenn leaves behind family members who include his brother Robert and cousins Wayne and Lolly Mayeda. He will also be missed by his long-time friends, among them Adele Fukuba, Maria Lenhart, Allen Kanda and Pepper Alexandria. We all wish he could have enjoyed many more years of retirement. We will never forget his wry sense of humor and pithy observations. We will not see his like again.