Nov 20, 2021 3 min read

A Canton Township couple who died earlier this week in an apparent murder-suicide were remembered fondly by friends and neighbors.

Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh said Friday that Samuel Mayberry, 89, shot his wife, Dolores Mayberry, 93, before taking his own life. Walsh declined to comment further.

State police found the couple dead inside their 66 Skylark Drive home Thursday. The shootings occurred sometime between 1 p.m. Wednesday and noon Thursday.

Forrest Allison, a state police spokesman, said there was no previous history of police calls involving the Mayberry family.

“That was the first time we ever responded to that address,” Allison said.

Tracy Eisenman lived next door to the couple for 30 years.

“I knew them well,” she said Friday. “They were like my parents,” Eisenman said.

She recalled the couple fondly, and noted the love they had for each other.

“They were great people. The salt of the earth. They loved each other a lot,” Eisenman said.

Matt Saxton grew up a few houses down the road from the Mayberrys, and remembers when they built their house in 1984.

“A year later, a small tornado came through our properties, knocked down a retaining wall and totaled their brand-new Subaru,” Saxton said.

According to Saxton, Samuel and Dolores were both divorced and married later in life. They each had children from their previous marriages but did not have any children together.

“They had a great marriage. They really had a lot of fun together. They had a lot of differences. They were different political parties, different religions,” Saxton said. “They still made it work. Every Sunday they did the New York Times crossword puzzle together and finished it.”

Saxton recalled when he was 12 years old that Samuel, who was a licensed pilot, took him for a ride in his Cessna from the Washington County Airport to the Greene County Airport.

“One day he said to me, ‘You want to go on a flight?’ He showed me how to get it all set up and ready for take-off,” Saxton recalled.

Saxton said Samuel also helped him remove engines from two Volkswagen Beetles, and that his own daughter would later become close with Dolores.

“When my daughter was about 7, she used to walk up to their place and Dolly would always have cookies for her,” Saxton said.

Saxton said he did not believe it at first when his father called Thursday with news of the shooting.

“They were just good people to be around. They always had smiles on their faces. They were always friendly. This is a big loss for a lot of people,” Saxton said.

Eisenman said she did not doubt that the couple were still in love.

“It was a Romeo and Juliet story. That’s what it was. Nothing more,” Eisenman said.

“He loved her more than life itself. They’re in a much better place now, together,” she added.