MOW Yolo meal recipient with colorful history says meals for her and her dog Gracie are a blessing
by Dorothy Korber
“My whole life I’ve been blessed with angels,” says Dierdre Mayes, “and Meals on Wheels in Yolo County is part of that angel clan.”
For 65 years, Mayes’ angels have led her on a merry chase, granting her a colorful life full of surprising twists. Angels aside, most of her success and survival is due to her own pluck and determination. Her winding path to Yolo County has led her to at least five different careers in places around the globe.
She spent eight years overseas in the Air Force, refueling jets while living in Europe, Asia and the Philippines. Then she worked for United Parcel Service (UPS) in Texas, delivering packages until she was vested in the company pension plan and could retire early.
“Before I joined the program I was prediabetic and my blood pressure was out of whack, really high. Now that I’m eating better, my blood sugar is better and my blood pressure is nice and low. It’s healthy, good food.”
Dierdre Mayes, MOW Yolo Meal Recipient, Retired Jill of All Trades
“After two weeks of being totally retired, I was bored and decided to go back to work,” she says. She trained to be a licensed vocational nurse in Texas, but in 2006 her mother’s poor health called her back home to Northern California.
She worked as a nursing assistant in Alameda, where she met one of those angels, a 90-year-old patient who hired Mayes as her private nurse and changed her life. “I’ll never forget her,” Mayes says. “She taught me to be frugal and grateful. She had so much wisdom and I just loved her to pieces.”
Inspired by her patient’s advice and support, Mayes took on a new challenge—she went to work for an insurance company and was trained to be a financial manager. She hit the road again, traveling extensively and earning good money.
That ended in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic made her reluctant to spend time in people’s homes. She moved to Woodland—got bored, naturally—and hired on as a driver for Yolobus, shuttling riders to casinos and airports.
A year later, driving an empty bus, she ran a red light, pulled over, and realized she couldn’t remember what had happened. Brain scans showed she had suffered a series of strokes over the past few years. Her working life was over.
“I have cognitive impairment from the strokes,” Mayes explains. “My long-term memory is good, but my short-term memory is pretty bad. I went from $175,000 a year working in life insurance to under $30,000 a year on disability, trying to live on $20 a month in food stamps.”
That’s when the angels from Meals on Wheels Yolo County (MOW Yolo) stepped in. A hospital social worker put her in touch with the organization and now volunteers bring her nourishing meals twice a week.
“Before I joined the program,” she says, “I was prediabetic and my blood pressure was out of whack, really high. Now that I’m eating better, my blood sugar is better and my blood pressure is nice and low. It’s healthy, good food.”
And Mayes isn’t the only beneficiary: “They also bring food for my dog, Gracie. She’s a fat little chihuahua-pug mix—great big eyes. Curly tail like a pug. She’s something else.”
Meals for Gracie are provided through the MOW PAWS: Pets and Well Seniors program, which was initiated by MOW Yolo in February 2025, realizing that many seniors would prioritize their pets’ nutrition before their own.
For Mayes, MOW Yolo is truly a godsend.
“It’s like clockwork,” she says. “I know the schedules of my volunteers, and when new ones come they introduce themselves and say hello. It’s just an amazing program with amazing people.”
For more information on how Meals on Wheels Yolo County can help you—or how you can help MOW Yolo—visit www.mowyolo.org or call 530-662-7035.
