Dorothy Loved the Lord:
She was an active member of her church in Charlotte, NC, Oakhurst Baptist, with her family prior to relocating to Marietta, GA in 1995, and joining Mt Bethel, UMC. She wanted to share her love for the Lord with children and was the teacher for the 4 year old Sunday School Class at Oakhurst while later taking the role of chaplain for her own Sunday School Class. In retirement, she served as the Cobb County National Association of Retired Federal Employees (NARFE) Chaplain.
Her love for the Lord was visible in her home, where as an avid reader, she had many Christian Books from her favorite authors, Billy and Ruth Graham, throughout the house. To get a great conversation going, you only needed to mention Billy or Ruth. She was ready to share thoughts, experiences or memories from her reading of Billy and Ruth. The connection to Billy and Ruth was much stronger than just that of favorite Christian authors. She felt a kinship due to parallels in their life experiences where both had deep roots in farming and the mountains.
Her desire to draw even closer to the Lord was amplified in her later years as her mobility became less. She chose to spend her days reading the entire Bible and when she finished was happy to start over and read it again. Gospel songs and Billy’s sermons coming over the music box, as she called her IPAD, brought smiles and joy to her days as her mobility continued to decline.
Dorothy Loved Her Family:
Dorothy was a loving and devoted wife to Clyde Payne for over 60 years. More importantly, they were life companions more complete together than apart – they completed each other. Her love for family was amplified in their two daughters, Pam and Gayle. The threading of her family love with the love for the Lord was exemplified in her joy as a gifted seamstress in making beautiful matching Easter dresses for her girls to wear for Easter Services as youth in Charlotte. As the next generation of family came along with her grandchildren, John, Branson, Grace and Cameron, she had more family to love and cherish. This love was shown through faithful attendance at events for the grandchildren such as birthdays, grandparent’s day, sporting events or musicals & plays. She took joy in seeing her daughters and grandchildren each successfully complete college as she felt education was important for her family. Not to forget the son-in-laws, Charlie & Herb, Dorothy was happy to have them as a part of her growing family. The love of family shown in her adult live was cultivated in her youth on the farm where she grew up and was known to be a mentor to her six siblings.
Dorothy Loved the North Carolina Mountains:
Next to Billy and Ruth Graham, getting an engaged conversation going with Dorothy, only took the mention of the mountains. She was a true mountain woman raised on a farm outside of Marshall, NC. Her love of the mountains was shared in memories of life on the farm with its hard work, reliance on faith and family. While she loved the mountains, she felt a call to do more with her own education, completing business college in Asheville where she met, Clyde, a mountain man, veteran of WW II and business college student in Asheville, as well. The love of the mountains and a focus on education became a bond that brought them together as they started their journey. The values of the mountain people - faith in the Lord, family, hard work and self-reliance with a focus on education served Dorothy and Clyde well as careers took them to Charlotte, NC where they would raise their girls. Dorothy had a career with the local school system and the state highway department as an administrative professional.
Love of the Lord, Love of Family and Love of the North Carolina Mountains made a special person of Dorothy Payne. Most importantly, Dorothy’s Loves created a special experience for all who experienced her in their life. But, the most interesting thing is how a mountain woman at heart found a mountain man for her heart. Both completing each other to raise two beautiful, educated, fine daughters to carry the traditions of faith, family and the mountains for the next generation.
Dorothy is survived by her daughters Pam Bennett (Herb) and Gayle Thackston (Charlie), her grandchildren John Thackston (Katie), Branson Bennett (Meagan), Grace Phillips (Wesley) and Cameron Bennett, her sister Glinna Fretwell and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.
H. M. Patterson & Son, Canton Hill Chapel, Marietta, will be managing the arrangements for the memorial service. Due to the current social distancing requirements, the service will be limited to only immediate family. The service will be at 11:00 am, Friday, June 12th, 2020. It will be a graveside service officiated by the Reverend Glenn Ray of Mt. Bethel, UMC, and will be held at Kennesaw Memorial Park Cemetery located at 1306 Whitlock Avenue, NW, Marietta, GA 30064.
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