Christina Stewart Payton

Mrs. Christina Payton of 308 West Elwood Street died Saturday, August 4, 2012 in Cape Fear Valley Medical Center at the age of 42. Mrs. Payton was born in San Diego, CA on December 17, 1969 to Larry Stewart and Juanita Davis Stewart. Christina Payton passed away on Friday while running in her Raeford, North Carolina neighborhood. Known as Chris to her friends and family, she was born on December 17, 1969 in San Diego to loving parents Larry and Juanita Stewart. After Mr. Stewart left the US Navy, the family settled in Lincolnton, Georgia, where Chris graduated from the Lincoln County School System as valedictorian in 1988. She continued her education at the University of Georgia and spent a summer as a YMCA camp counselor in Dupree, South Dakota. It was there that she met Bill Payton, a man who would be devoted to Chris for the rest of her life. They were married in Athens, Georgia, in 1992, and Chris graduated from UGA in 1993. A devoted homemaker, Chris accompanied and supported Bill throughout multiple duty stations with the US Army in Europe and the Southeast, including multiple tours at Fort Bragg. His most current assignment as an Army Chaplain at Camp Mackall brought them back to Raeford, where they raised sons Hunter and Noah. She shepherded her young boys and supported her loving husband through his multiple combat tours and deployments, all while pursuing her own career as an Art Teacher in Geissen, Germany, as well as Hoke County Schools, first at Upchurch Elementary and most recently at Maclaughlin Elementary. She was an experienced and articulate grant writer, securing several precious grants during her tenure in Hoke County Schools to supplement funding for her classrooms. She was beloved by her students and coworkers, who enjoyed her bright and infectious smile, her sardonic wit, and her genuinely kind and compassionate nature. Chris enjoyed the outdoors and was an avid supporter of local Boy Scouts of America troops. Through the Boy Scouts, she was inducted into the Order of the Arrow and earned the coveted Wood Badge, recognizing her efforts as a talented and deeply involved member of an activity she loved to participate in with her sons. She was also a skilled gardener, employing the concept of the 'country garden' to brilliantly beautify their many homes throughout Bills Army career. She enjoyed hobbies as varied as basket weaving, photography, and making paracord 'survival' bracelets. However, a devoted Christian woman, her greatest joy was found in caring for and spending time with 'her men', and protecting and nurturing her family was her highest priority. Her devotion to God and family was profound. She was fiercely loyal, vibrantly joyful, and uniquely blessed with incredible common sense and remarkable intellect. The many spaces left by her loss simply cannot be filled. The deep and heartfelt sense of loss experienced by her family is tempered by their faith in a loving, compassionate God, who has now saved her by His grace from all sadness, fear, worry, and pain. We rejoice, therefore, in her eternal peace and the awesome happiness she now enjoys. Survivors include her husband William Payton; two sons, Hunter Payton and Noah Payton all of Raeford; father, Larry Stewart; mother, Juanita Davis Stewart both of Lincolnton, GA; two sisters, Doris Lankford on Lincolnton, GA, Margie Stewart of Augusta, GA. Memorial Service will be 6:30 P.M., Thursday, August 9, 2012 at Rockfish Church, 9949 Fayetteville Road Raeford, NC 28376 with Chaplain Steve Bryant officiating. Visitation will follow the service at the church. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Boy Scouts of America by going to http://aplacetogive.scouting.org/magento/, and/or any Autistic Research Foundation.