Herbie Augusta Reynolds was born in Vernon, Texas, Wilbarger County, to Charles Edwin Reynolds and Ida Walker, the eighth of twelve children. She married Harvey Allen Mayfield May 6, 1917 in Lipan, Texas, Hood County. They were the parents of four children, three sons and a daughter.

Herbie was a quite the jokester, as were many of her siblings. Her grandchildren thought she was marvelous, always ready to play games, or pull a trick. She had a wonderful personality, always pleasant and generous to a fault. Herbie grew up on a farm and when she was grown found herself married to a farmer. She was an avid gardener, always filling her larder with the many fruits and vegetables that she raised, but it was her flowers that pleased her the most. There was ever a riot of color surrounding her home.

The home she provided became a sought after haven for her family and the family of her husband. Everyone came to Uncle Harvey's and Aunt Herbie's house, and ocassionally at the same time. She told the story of one such incident when several different families came and as night approached she began to go about the work of making beds for everyone. As time passed and everyone was bedded down for the night, she began to giggle. Harvey was at a loss to see what was funny and asked her where were they sleeping. She began to laugh and explained that the only place left was the large oak dining table and their blankets were their coats. It was a testament to her good humor that she found the incident quite funny.

Another story she laughed over for years dealt with her butter making abilities. When visitors left her home, many times they took away some goodie from her kitchen. Harvey's nephew, Earl Jack, always took home a pound of butter. It was his favorite treat. Herbie asked Harvey to cut her a block of wood the size of her butter blocks and on Earl Jack's next visit, she slipped away to the kitchen and spread a thin layer of butter over the block of wood. Hardly able to contain her glee, she wrapped it up in wax paper and waved him on his way, then laughed for hours, thinking of the look on his face when he took his knife to his block of "butter". This was only one of her many jokes.

She faced the many hardships and griefs in her life with great courage and heart. She was forever sad at the loss of her only daughter at the age of one year to the Spanish Flu. She buried her husband and two of her three sons. The only child to survive her was her youngest and my husband.

Herbie was the world's best mother-in-law. She demanded nothing and gave everything. It was with great sadness that we had to say goodbye to her, but we will all be reunited one day. I look forward to seeing her again.