Travis Lee Payne

Our loving son, brother, uncle, and friend, Travis Lee Payne, 41, of Brunswick, was lost to us unexpectedly on Easter Sunday, April 17, 2022. His took his last breath at the Brunswick Campus of Southeast Georgia Health System, surrounded by his loving family.

Travis was born December 9, 1980 in Douglasville, Georgia, the fourth of seven children to Henry Thomas “Tommy” and Mary Alice Taylor Payne. He attended St. Francis Xavier School, Glynn Middle School, and did a brief stint as an outstanding friend, excellent football player, and fun loving – though not academically dedicated – student at Glynn Academy, eventually completing high school when he earned his GED.

But formal education wasn’t what set Travis’s soul on fire. His greatest love and to what he was most dedicated, was music. Travis picked up his dad’s guitar as a young teen and taught himself how to play, and several of his siblings followed suit. In high school he started his first band called “Fat Boy Malone” with his brother Taylor Payne and best friend Ryan Martin, followed by his second band, “Francis Funk and the Naughty Donkeys” with Taylor, Carlton Bostock, and Andrew Toth. Over the years Travis played in several other bands, with the most notable and most successful being “My First Circus” with his brother Tim Payne and friend Adam Cruz (Scott Funk and Noel Hollaway were interim members), which recorded three full length albums, went on two cross country tours and played 100+ shows all over the southeast United States. Travis was an incredibly talented and unique guitarist. His influences came from many genres including blues, rock, country, soul, rap and reggae. The loss of Travis’s performances and musical gifts will leave a void, especially here in Brunswick. Thankfully his music will be celebrated for years to come.

Travis was also well known for his jolly personality, loving support of friends and family, and his hugs. Travis’s life was unconventional, and he was always full of surprises. A new car he bought, joining the Elk’s Lodge, a sudden trip… you just really never knew what he would be up to next. He lived by his motto, “drive fast, take chances,” taking hold of life and living it to the fullest. His full life many times frustrated those that loved him, but they also knew his intention was never to hurt. His hugs, laughter, and music will be missed deeply.

Travis has a large family here to carry on his memory, including his father, Tommy; his brother Eric Payne and wife Katie; sister Tavia Harrison and husband Joey; brother Taylor Payne and wife Katherine; brother Tulley Payne; brother Timothy Payne and wife Chasity; sister Tori Payne; nieces and nephews (of whom he was extremely proud) Kylie, Ethan, Bailey, Boston, Lilly, Henry, Silas, Ruby and Sam; his many aunts and uncles; a multitude of cousins and very good friends; his long-time loving companion, Hollis Willow Martinello; and his most precious fur child, his pug, Ladybug.

No recounting of his life would be complete without honoring the vast network of service workers who made up his chosen family as he went about “enhancing the community” by visiting his favorite haunts. He was there for many of their life moments, and dispensed advice, hugs, and laughter as needed, and they loved him very much.

Although the grief and pain of losing Travis so suddenly is immense, his family is comforted in knowing that he has been met in his journey beyond this life by others who have gone before him, including his mother Mary, his paternal grandparents John and Ruby Lee Payne, his maternal grandparents, William and Alice Taylor, and one of his closest and most cherished friends, Ryan Martin.

If you feel moved to pay tribute to Travis’s life, please donate in his name to the Travis Payne Memorial Fund at Prime South Bank, Brunswick, GA, which will help scholarship young musicians in Glynn County. But truly, the greatest way you can honor Travis’s life is to show unconditional love to others, always be up for an adventure, sing from your soul, and “hug like Travis.”

Edo Miller and Sons Funeral Home has been entrusted with arrangements.