Mary Payne

Obituaries

Tuesday, 03 May 2022 11:45

Mary Nell Payne, retired educator, loving mother, grandmother and aunt, passed away on Sunday, April 24, 2022. Funeral services were held on Saturday, April 30, 2022 at Scottsboro Funeral Home with graveside services held at Corinth Cemetery.

Born in Hollytree on Sunday, November 4, 1923, Mary Nell attended Paint Rock Valley, graduating in 1944. She enrolled in Florence State Teachers College and began teaching third grade in the fall of 1944. One of her students was her brother, a third-grader at the time. Mary Nell moved on to teach elementary education at Macedonia Junior High. She lived at a boarding house for teachers run by the late Eula Wellborn, where she met Eula’s nephew, Elliotte Payne, who would become her husband in 1951. She later finished her BS in Elementary Education from Athens College in the summer of 1971 and retired in 1987 after a distinguished 35-year career. She then became an active member of the retired teachers’ guild of Jackson County. She also took up the art of quilting and was a member of the Peace by Piece quilting guild of Jackson County. She quilted over 30 quilts from 1987 to 2012, including an award-winning appliqué quilt titled, Boston Garden. She was also a devoted member of Corinth Baptist Church.

She is survived by her children, Pamela Payne, Victor Payne, Melanie Payne; grandchildren, Daniel Allen, Christopher Allen; sister, Kathryn Hartline; several nieces, nephews, grand-nieces and grand-nephews.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to a charity of your choice in memory of Mary Nell.