Maynard Epps warmly greeted me as I visited the comfortable country home in Kenwood where he currently resides. Born on March 9, 1917 in Lyons, Kansas, he was raised by adoptive parents and lived with his maternal grandparents when his father died. He remembered his hometown as a warm and friendly place to grow up. As his personal story unfolded, I was impressed with Maynard's introspective, unpretentious and seemingly unflappable demeanor; and I couldn't help but wonder if this was at least a contributing factor to his continued health as a nonagenarian at age 95.
Perhaps
every child has pondered at one time or another whether they were adopted, and
much has been written on the subject of adoption. Maynard didn't learn that he had been adopted
until he was in high school, when he intuitively announced to his mother one
day, "I was adopted, wasn't I?"
The truth was openly acknowledged in that moment, and his reaction was
one of deep gratitude that his adoptive family loved him as their own. He couldn't imagine being loved by a mother
any more than he was loved by his adoptive mother. Maynard chose not to pursue learning about
his birth parents, in part out of respect for his adoptive family, and has no
regrets. His adoptive Grandmother, a
dressmaker in Lyons, was his very favorite person, because of her genuine
kindness to everyone she met. He knew
she was adored by all of her grandchildren.
Maynard
recalls being a "happy kid" who did well in school. After high school graduation, he worked in
accounting for the Otis Elevator Company in Kansas, and then in accounting for
the Army Corp of Engineers under the direction of Lt. Colonel Theodore Wyman,
District Engineer in Hawaii. The Corp of
Engineers was focused on building airfields in the Hawaiian Islands and across
the Pacific. Maynard was working in
their offices in Honolulu, Hawaii on December 7, 1941 when he looked out the
window and noticed foreign-looking planes flying by. He distinctly remembers the experience and
his feeling of imminent threat, despite not actually hearing the air strikes
that ensued.
Shortly
thereafter, Maynard was drafted into the U.S. Army and directly recruited by
Colonel Wyman to serve as his administrative assistant in Canada as they
completed a major engineering project: The Alaskan Highway. He was directly involved in recruiting laborers
to work on the project, and deeply admired Colonel Wyman as a man of action
able to complete very significant projects, and for his problem solving skills.
After
WWII and his departure from the Army Corp of Engineers, Maynard worked in
accounting for the Grace Line shipping company in their San Francisco
office. He worked his way up the company
ranks to the position of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in this company until
his retirement, but never traveled on one of their ships despite the
opportunity to do so.
Maynard
may have retired from Grace Line, but he wasn't ready to stop contributing so
he became a licensed nursing home administrator in a care facility only blocks
from his home in San Mateo. He was
attracted to this position because he always liked helping people, and the
position made him feel satisfied that he was giving back.
Reflecting
on his 95 years of life experiences to date, Maynard Epps is quite content and
has no regrets. He never married but has
a close circle of extended family and friends. He recognizes that the job
opportunities he had without a college degree would not be the experience of a
high school graduate today, and he strongly encourages today's youth to get a
college education. As for him, Maynard
simply takes each day as it comes, one day at a time.
Maynard
effuses a sense of peace and serenity so many people seek in today's roller-coaster
world. May you, too, find peace and
serenity!
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