John Mayor, 90, man of many vocations

When John Mayor, former head of the old Minneapolis Better Business Bureau, retired, he became an actor at some of the Twin Cities' premier stages.

The World War II veteran and retired Air Force Reserves officer died on Dec. 6 in Eden Prairie. Mayor, 90, a longtime Minnetonka resident, had been living in Eden Prairie for the past few years.

He hadn't acted since college, and some were skeptical he could make a go of it, but he did. For a dozen years, beginning in the early 1980s, he had roles at the Guthrie Theater, Theatre de la Jeune Leune and Theater in the Round, to name a few.

During his acting career, he also modeled and appeared in commercials, even some national ones, said his wife, Barbara, of Eden Prairie.

"He had important supporting roles," said his son-in-law, Josiah Ober, formerly of Minneapolis, now of Palo Alto, Calif. "It was quite wonderful. He had a big, deep, beautiful voice."

Ober, a professor of political science and the classics at Stanford University, teaches an ethics class. As a young man, Ober sought Mayor's advice on what direction his life should take.

"He had a lot of impact on me and my teaching ever since. He was a mentor. I recognized in him that it was possible for someone to live an ethical life," said Ober.

From 1957 to 1980, Mayor helped lead what is now the Better Business Bureau of Minnesota and North Dakota.

Ron Graham of Watkins, Minn., a former president and CEO of the nonprofit organization, said Mayor, who for much of his career was in charge of Minneapolis, was instrumental in forging a merger between the Minneapolis and St. Paul bureaus in the late 1970s.

Graham said the bureau saw a big jump in workload as consumers in the 1960s and 1970s looked to it for assurance.

"John Mayor is remembered as a devoted and skilled Better Business Bureau professional throughout the country," Graham said. "He had high communication skills, and he had a great insight for integrity in business."

After service in England during World War II in the Army Air Forces, Mayor rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Air Force Reserves, serving in Minneapolis until 1960.

For 20 years, until six years ago, he read for Radio Talking Book for the blind twice a week. "He was most proud of his work for Radio Talking Book," his wife said.

In addition to his wife of 65 years, he is survived by his daughters, Adrienne Mayor of Palo Alto, Calif., and Michele Mayor Angel of Crystal; a son, Mark Mayor of Bloomington, and a grandson.