Jean Cornelia Payne

Jean Cornelia Wylie Payne, 99, passed away at her home on Sunday, December 31, 2023. Jean was born at home in Jacksonville, FL, on March 16, 1924, daughter of Robert Henry Wylie and Eva Melissa Hayes Wylie. After graduating from Andrew Jackson High School in 1941, she worked in the payroll office at the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, where she met her future husband. On May 1, 1948, she married Orlin Phillip Payne at the chapel on the base.

After her husband Orlin left the navy, Jean and Orlin raised five children and lived in Jacksonville until 1979 when they moved to the Foxmeadow neighborhood in Clay County, FL.

Jean loved to read and was active in the Friends of the Middleburg-Clay Hill Library serving as Treasurer until the day of her passing. She made close friends in her book/quilting group. She also was active in the Foxmeadow Civic Association and served on the board as Treasurer for many years. Jean loved flowers and gardening, participating in the Middleburg Garden Club and always maintaining her own backyard vegetable and flower garden. Jean grew up attending North Main Street Baptist Church and later First Baptist Church of Middleburg.

Jean was preceded in death by her husband Orlin in 2007, and her oldest son, David Phillip Payne, in 2008. Jean is survived by her children, Martha Payne Hellmuth and her husband, John, of Middleburg, FL; Gary Edward Payne and his wife, Maria Rosa, of Maryville, TN; Michael Alan Payne and his wife, Laurel, of Gainesville, FL; Nancy Payne Dudrick and her husband, Paul, of Knoxville, TN; her grandchildren, Kelly, Kimberly, Raleigh, Rebecca, Roxanne, Melissa, Mary Ellen, Edward, Benjamin, Luke, Emily, and Erica; and four great-grandchildren, Miles, Elena, Maya, and Sylvie.

On January 12th, 2023, a graveside service will be held at Evergreen Cemetery in Jacksonville, FL at 11:00 am, and a reception for friends and family will be held the same day at Jean’s home from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm.

In lieu of flowers, donation may be made to Friends of the Middleburg-Clay Hill Branch Library or Garden Club of Middleburg.