Obituary of Wendell Payne Sr.

Mr. Jimmy Wendell Payne Sr., a resident of Skipperville, died Friday, August 23, 2024, at his home surrounded by his loving family. He was 82 years old. Funeral services for Mr. Payne will be 11:00 A.M. Monday, August 26, 2024, from Skipperville Methodist Church with Reverend Gail Joyner, Reverend Donald Payne and Reverend Matt Worley officiating. Interment will follow in Skipperville Community Cemetery, Holman Funeral Home of Ozark directing. The family will receive friends in the church Monday from 9:30 A.M. until service time. Mr. Payne was born January 3, 1942 in Skipperville, Alabama to the late Joe Payne and Florence Jimmy Mathison Payne. He attended Skipperville School until he transferred in the ninth grade to Carroll High School where he graduated. Wendell was an outstanding football player and enjoyed school sports. Mr. Payne graduated from Troy State University with a Master’s Degree in Education. He met Mary Woodham in 1961 at Morgan Baptist Church where her father was the Pastor and they were married in 1964. They raised three sons together; Jimbo, Paul and David Payne. He worked in education for thirty-two years until retiring with the State of Alabama. After retirement, he worked for Mark Williams at Wayne Frier Manufactured Mobile Homes in Dothan, Alabama. Mr. Payne was a lifetime active member of Skipperville Methodist Church and was a member of the Dale County Gideons Camp. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his son, Leslie David Payne; and siblings, Louise Payne Childers, Wilene Payne Quimby and Lanier Payne. Survivors include his wife of 60 years, Mary Woodham Payne of Skipperville, two sons, Jimbo Payne (Mitzi) of Echo and Paul Payne (Tracey) of Skipperville; daughter-in-law, Mona Payne of Enterprise; grandchildren, Shelby Senn (Philip Senn), Cassie Galloway (Orin Galloway), Chase Payne (Jordan Payne) Joe Payne (Erika Payne), Stetson Payne (Alli Payne), Kros Payne, Gabe Payne, Kenzi Nelson (Brantley Nelson), Hannah Payne, Lilly Grace Payne, Maddie McDaniel, Chelsi Jones (Ben Jones), Sloan Simmons and Ethan Simmons (Taylor Simmons); great grandchildren, Darcy, Romy and Elly Senn, Huxton, Briggs and Foster Galloway, Brooks and Waylon Payne, Collins and Jase Payne, Hayes Nelson, Bowen and Greer Jones, Kreed Simmons, Lawton and Lynnon Simmons. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in his memory to Skipperville Methodist Church Children and Youth; or to The Gideons Dale County Camp, P. O. Box 291, Ozark, Alabama 36361.