Walter Augustus Mayer, also known as “Wall y ” o r “Captain Redfish”, died at his home after a battle with cancer on Wednesday, March 21, 2012.

Mayer was “Coach Mayer” to hundreds of students. He taught math and coached volleyball, basketball, and track; the longest stints were at Austwell Tivoli High School and Port Aransas High School.

Mayer was born Aug. 25, 1935, in Seguin to Alma Farrier and Walter A. Mayer. He moved to Aransas Pass at the age of three.

He graduated from Aransas Pass High School in 1952 and received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1957 from Texas A&I University in Kingsville, where he was a four-year basketball letterman. He served in the U.S. Army from 1959-1961.

Mayer met Jean Carolyn Lewis (a set up by her father), worked up the courage to propose in a letter, and married her in Bartlett on June 9, 1963. They were married 48 years.

An avid fisherman his whole life, “Captain Redfish” became a full-time fishing guide in 1989.

He is a former member of the Port Aransas Boatmen’s Association, and a member of the Coastal Bend Guides Association. His favorite thing as part of that group was taking the chemo patients from Driscoll Children’s Hospital fishing every year.

In 2002, after living in the Tivoli and Austwell area for 18 years and Port Aransas for 20 years, the Mayers moved back to his hometown of Aransas Pass, where they attended the First Baptist Church.

Mayer is preceded in death by his parents and nephew, Mark Harriss.

He is survived by his wife; a son, Randy Mayer, of Weatherford; daughters Melanie Mayer of Corpus Christi, and Shelley Witcher of Milton, Georgia; sisters Janie Parks and Suzanne Harriss of New Braunfels and Frances (Jerry) Hajovsky of Sheridan; seven grandchildren: Kaitlin, Garrett, Jackson, Gage, Weston, Kamryn, and Lincoln.

A memorial service was held Sunday, March 25, 2012, at First Baptist Church in Aransas Pass. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to First Baptist Church in Aransas Pass or a cancer charity.