From childhood games of dodging tennis balls to serving side by side in the Bay St. Louis Rotary Club, the connection between Ashley Mayley-Yarber and her dad, Dave Mayley, has never wavered.
“We both thrive on connection, live in motion until we crash and share a dedication to family and service,” Mayley-Yarber says. “We make the same goofy faces in photos just to mess with my mom, drink the same cheap beer, devour cheap pizza and agree that music cures everything. It’s a beautiful bond.”
Mayley agrees that his daughter is “a lot like me.”
“We have a great relationship!” he exclaims. “I tend to get under her skin at times. We can pick on each other and we’re both OK with it.”
All ribbing aside, Mayley-Yarber admires her dad’s heart of gold and commitment to service. Giving back together has added another meaningful layer to their bond.
No matter the task, she says, “with him, it always feels like an adventure.”
RESILIENCE, COURAGE —AND SHOWING UP
Mayley-Yarber fondly remembers walks along the levee with her dad, looking for turtles, and his lessons on handling a pocketknife — which she used to carve her name into a tree they called Terabithia.
“My dad is the reason our neighborhood was always filled with laughter,” she recalls. “After long work trips, he’d come home and dive straight into games of freeze tag or made-up adventures.”
One game they played was called “monster” and involved throwing tennis balls at Mayley.
“What a losing game it was for me, the ‘monster,’” Mayley jokes.
When her dad left the corporate world to start his own pest-control business, Mayley-Yarber admits she was angry and didn’t understand. But through his example, he showed her that steady progress, no matter how slow, is still progress.
“He taught me resilience, courage and how to show up even when things get tough,” she says, “and no matter the struggle, he and my mom always made sure my brother and I felt loved, supported and never missed out on the magic of family vacations.”
FOLLOWING IN HIS FOOTSTEPS
Now a mom herself who is raising three young women, Mayley-Yarber has modeled much of her parenting style after her dad. Even on tough days, she tries to bring the same joy, encouragement and sense of wonder into her girls’ lives that she experienced.
“My dad showed me that anything is possible with enough love and determination,” she says, “and that’s what I pass on to my daughters.”
Seeing Mayley-Yarber excel as a mom is one of her dad’s greatest delights.
“It’s feen truly wonderful watching her raise her kids, my granddaughters,” he says. “She also is able to take on challenges that most people would not be able to.”
One such challenge was the loss of her best friend, Emily, who died from COVID-19 in 2021 — after which Mayley-Yarber stepped in to take care of Emily’s eldest daughter, Maddie..
The doting dad is likewise impressed by Mayley- Yarber’s penchant for service — which she developed by tagging along with him to events like Relay for Life and watching him laugh, lead and uplift others. She preceded her dad as president of the Bay St. Louis Rotary Club and passed on the title to him this year.
“That was a pretty special moment when she handed the gavel over to me,” Mayley says.
‘PROUDEST PAPA EVER’
As Father’s Day approaches, Mayley-Yarber says while her dad isn’t big on being celebrated, he enjoys family time, telling stories and kicking back — especially if someone else is manning the grill.
“If it were up to him, his band would be playing a brunch gig at The Loft downtown, and we’d all be there,” she says. “That’s his perfect day.”
As a self-described “workaholic,” Mayley admits he’ll probably be thinking about business on June 15. But his biggest hope for Father’s Day is to relax, maybe take the dogs to the beach and gather with his loved ones.
“When we have family gatherings and there’s my two kids, their spouses and my six grandkids attending with them, all telling me things they’ve accomplished or are doing at the moment,” Mayley says, “it makes me the proudest papa ever.”