Gregory Allen Mayer, 77, of Rock Island entered life eternal on Thursday, April 24, 2025, surrounded by his family. Greg suffered a massive and debilitating stroke at his home in Rock Island on April 7 and was subsequently cared for at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City before transitioning to hospice at Clarissa Cook Hospice Home in Bettendorf for his final days.

Visitation will be Friday, May 2, 2025, from 4:00pm to 7:00pm at Wheelan-Pressly Funeral Home and Crematory Rock Island, IL. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, May 3, 2025, at 11:00am at First Lutheran Church in Rock Island with visitation an hour beforehand. St. John's Lutheran Church in Rock Island will host a reception following the funeral.

Greg was born on November 30, 1947, in Aurora, Illinois to Louis and Beverly (Stokes) Mayer, a self-employed union barber and bookkeeper.

Greg and his three younger brothers grew up in Warrenville, Illinois where he and his family were active members at Trinity Lutheran Church. Greg graduated from Wheaton Central High School and from Aurora College (now Aurora University) with a bachelor's degree in history in 1968.

Greg put himself through college by working as a gourmet chef. Learning first from his mother, Bev, and his grandmothers, cooking and baking became life-long passions for Greg.

While in college he met Judith A. Ahlquist, a fellow history major, daughter of one of the professors, and recent arrival from Minnesota. Judy and Greg were married on December 27, 1969 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Warrenville, Illinois. The couple lived in St. Paul, Minnesota while Greg attended Northwestern Lutheran Theological Seminary. They thought they had a good partnership – he could cook, and she could type.

In 1972, during Greg's internship at Jackson Park Lutheran Church in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Greg and Judy welcomed their son Gregory Allen James Mayer (whom they called "Allen" from an early age). Greg was ordained in the Illinois Synod of the Lutheran Church in America (LCA) in 1974. Greg's first call as a pastor was in Dongola, Illinois (First Lutheran and rural St. John's Lutheran, the oldest Lutheran church in Illinois). In 1975 they were blessed with their daughter, Kristine Anna Marie Mayer.

Greg moved to calls at ELCA churches in Milledgeville (Trinity Lutheran), Sandwich (Salem Lutheran), and Rock Island (First Lutheran) before Greg retired in 2014. In retirement Greg, Judy, and Kristine became active members of St. John's Lutheran Church in Rock Island.

Pastoral care was truly Greg's vocation and calling. He responded to God's grace by loving not only his neighbors, but everyone he met. Greg loved his vocation, leading confirmation classes, bible studies, traditional and special worship services, baptisms, weddings, funerals, potlucks, ethnic festivals, interfaith partnerships, visits to the sick, dying and shut-in, and social ministries to help the poor and the marginalized in our community and around the world. He preached the gospel of God's love for everyone through his words and actions.

While their son Allen attended the Illinois Math and Science Academy (IMSA), Greg and Judy "adopted" any number of IMSA students who came from southern Illinois or otherwise just needed a family. Greg and Judy remained close to their adopted IMSA kids as well as their German Rotary exchange student, Marcus Kruger, for the rest of their lives.

Greg appreciated the outdoors. He had long ties to Lutheran Outdoors Ministry Center (LOMC) in Oregon, Illinois where his parents, brothers, daughter, and granddaughter all volunteered or worked. Every year for Greg was a cycle of gardening and growing plants to show and share with friends. He enjoyed trips to northwest Wisconsin and the north shore of Lake Superior visiting friends and family along the way.

While Greg never had cable television he enjoyed international travel to Germany, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Egypt, and the Holy Land. And Greg shared his love of travel by organizing and leading groups to learn about Luther's Germany or Scandinavian or Irish heritage.

Greg carved wood, painted rosemaling, and did his own hardanger embroidery, sharing his creations with family, friends, and his congregations. And he truly adored antiques and loved a good estate sale. Greg cared for indoor and outdoor cats his entire life, often adopting more strays than he originally planned.

Nearly everyone who knew Greg knew that he loved to cook and bake and eat. For decades Greg and his family would make pounds of Swedish sausage to savor over the year and give away to friends and family. He baked dozens of traditional cookies for the Christmas holidays. He organized and cooked for countless church dinners and family meals. In recent years he learned to cook and bake gluten-free for his daughter Kristine. During the pandemic he taught his granddaughter Katherine how to bake family recipes over Facetime. The day of his stroke Greg had just finished making jars of chutney after asking for a family recipe and had stocked his refrigerator with the ingredients to make Ukrainian egg bread (Paska) for Easter.

Greg loved to share his food and drink with family and friends. He hosted dinners and parties at his home for holidays ranging from traditional family Thanksgivings and Christmas tree decorating to Swedish Midsummer or just the last nice day before the winter cold. Greg had been planning a garden party at the end of April to remember his late wife Judy and celebrate the birthday of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.

Greg was preceded in death by his parents, Louis and Beverly Mayer, his wife, Judy Mayer, and his brother David Mayer, who passed away on the same day that Greg suffered his stroke. He is survived by his children Kristine Mayer of Rock Island and G. Allen (Carey) Mayer and his grandchildren Conrad and Katherine Mayer of Springfield, IL. He is also survived by his brothers Jeffrey and Philip (Betsy) Mayer, his sister-in-law Janice Beagley, and by six nieces and nephews.

The family asks that memorials be made to St. John's Lutheran Church or First Lutheran Church of Rock Island or to one of the many charities and causes that he supported.

Memories of Pastor Greg Mayer may be shared via email to pastorgreg.memories@gmail.com.