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Joseph Mayhew, a retired Library of Congress employee, died on June 10, 2000, at age 57. He was suffering from Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, considered rare in the United States. A Washington, DC, area native, Mayhew grew up in Riverdale, Maryland, and attended Bladensburg High School, the University of Maryland, and the Mount Saint Mary's Seminary in Thurmont, Maryland. He graduated from the University of Waterloo in Canada. Mayhew was a long-time resident of Greenbelt, Maryland.

After joining the Library of Congress in the mid-1960s, Mayhew worked at every GS rank from 2 to 12 during his career. He began as a deck attendant and worked in the Law Library as a reference assistant from 1966 to 1967, before moving to the Order Division. In 1978, he became part of the Hispanic Acquisitions Section and was a senior acquisitions specialist at the time he retired in 1993. Fluent in several languages, Mayhew developed a wealth of experience at the library. He served as the first recommending officer for science fiction, and he initiated the collection policy statement for that genre and started an exchange program for Eastern European science fiction, fantasy and horror literature in the library and beyond. With other interested library staff, he raised the profile of science fiction, fantasy and horror in the Library and beyond. After leaving the library, Mayhew returned twice to speak to the Library of Congress Professional Association's What IF . . . Science Fiction and Fantasy Forum.

Science fiction also was a passion for Mayhew outside the Library. He was a published writer of short fiction, appearing in Tomorrow, Aberrations, and Aboriginal SF. He reviewed science fiction for the Washington Post and Fast Forward, a local cable TV program. Mayhew had an international reputation as a cartoonist. He was nominated for the Hugo Award for the Best Fan Artist in 1990 and 1996; he won this award in 1998 and 1999, the latter awarded posthumously. A compilation of his unpublished works is being planned by the Washington Science Fiction Association (WSFA). An active member of WSFA for four decades, Mayhew served as an officer, occasionally edited the WSFA Journal, and chaired the 1987 Disclave, a local science fiction convention. He also was the unofficial greeter to new members, using his courtly manner to make all feel welcome.

As an artist, he was one of the major developers of the modern version of art shows at science fiction conventions, encouraging the growth of this field. For members of the Katherine Anne Porter Society perhaps his most interesting artistic endeavor was painting the pine coffin Miss Porter purchased in 1974. Mayhew, whose mother was one of Miss Porter's neighbors in the Westchester Park high-rise at the time, learned of the coffin and offered to decorate it for Miss Porter. He painted it with large flowers in primary colors, attempting to make it look like a piñata. Miss Porter delighted in shocking visitors to her apartment by stepping in and out of the decorated coffin, which she kept in a closet. This piece of Mayhew's art now resides in the Katherine Anne Porter Room in Hornbake Library at the University of Maryland.

Besides drawing and painting, Mayhew also established a reputation as a sculptor, often working in wood or Sculpy. A colleague remembered Mayhew creating figures for chess sets on his break time, completing several pieces each session, while carrying on intense conversations at the same time. He also carved intricately decorated walking sticks in wood. Mayhew learned woodworking from his father, who, for many years, was the foreman of the Machine Shop at the Library of Congress.

Just as Mayhew was skilled at molding wood, he was an artist with words. He is remembered for knowing the origin of odd phrases and for his colorful vocabulary. As some collect antiques, Mayhew collected old and new works and searched their beginnings and alternate uses, not only for knowledge but also so he could use them correctly. Mayhew is survived by his brother, sister, sister-in-law, and seven nieces and nephews.