Thomas Hayes Mayo died just a few days after his 21st birthday. Although his life was tragically cut short, he made impactful friendships that will last far beyond his 21 years. Thomas saw good in everyone, and it's appropriate that he continues to inspire others to do good even after he's gone.

Thomas was an active member of Sigma Chi fraternity at Ole Miss. His fall 2019 pledge class had 80 members, and some of Thomas's strongest friendships were made that fall with those young men.

Like a lot of children growing up in Oxford, Thomas Mayo played hundreds of hours of soccer. Thomas wore jersey #8 when he played for the Oxford High School Chargers, one of the top-ranked teams in the state.

Thomas's graduating class at Oxford High School had 266 students, many of whom had been friends since preschool and then went on to Ole Miss together. Losing their lifelong friend was hard for many of these young people.

As a lifelong Ole Miss fan and Oxford resident, Thomas attended games since he was a very young child. In 2014, he and his dad made the 785-mile trip from Oxford to Omaha to see the Rebel baseball team play in their first College World Series appearance since 1972. The trip was very special, and one they would have loved to repeat in 2022 to see the National Championship series.

Just days after Thomas Mayo's death from fentanyl poisoning on April 14, 2022, the Mayo family and Thomas' friends already saw an opportunity to help others. Their hope is that something good comes from this preventable tragedy, and that lives can be saved in Thomas' memory.