JT Mayo was born and raised in Willacy County in an agricultural environment. He farmed commodity row crops as well as citrus, vegetables and sugarcane. At the age of 50 he started a wholesale nursery and added an import /export business of live plant materials to Europe, the Middle East, New Zealand, China and Taiwan. Later he expanded into Central America where he produced hand crafted  stone products that were shipped in ocean containers and sold in the USA, Germany and Japan. He is an avid offshore fisherman and actively enjoys life.