Maxine Payne

Maxine was a kind, generous, and loving spirit. To know Maxine, was to know that she was a one-of-a-kind spirit that never let life bring her down…only upwards. And she passed that spirit along to all who met her.

Maxine Jessie Pruitt was born on October 3, 1919, in Terre Haute, Indiana. She was the second daughter born to Consuella Blake and Mack Parrish. Her older sister, Ella Louise Brown, preceded her in death in 2005.

Maxine’s early schooling took place in Terre Haute, Indiana, graduating from Gerstmeyer Technical High School. She later took up shorthand and typing.

She married Charles B. Hall in 1942, who was the 1stt Black Tuskegee airman to shoot down an enemy plane in WWII. Later, she married William H. Payne, who was a Sargent Major in the Army. Through those marriages she gained stepchildren. Charles Hall, Jr., Rodger F. Payne, (deceased), and Candace (Candi) L. Payne, Maxine, Mac or Lady Maxine, all names she was affectionately called, loved to travel. She never let the road settle as she moved around the country. Her favorite place was Hawaii. The colors, the food, and the flowers - boy those flowers. If you ever had the privilege to visit her home, it was lined with flowers from top to bottom.

The one love that topped her travels was that of her four-legged children. From her first Nani, who she got in Hawaii, to the current baby Jazz. They went everywhere with her if they were allowed. They filled her heart with love.

Early in life she was sprinkled at the Allen Chapel Methodist Church with her grandparents in attendance. Later she joined Eastern Star Church under the leadership of Reverend Jeffery L. Johnson. She was Reverend Johnson’s 1st Eastern Star Baptism. Maxine was a loving and giving Christian woman who lived by the motto, “It’s better to give than to receive.”

She had several careers during her lifetime which included: working at the Tuskegee Airbase Air Care Supply, supplying materials for the airman; she worked at Tuskegee Institute in the Treasury Office as a cashier for several years. She retired from Fort Harrison Indianapolis as a Family Housing Inspector after 22 years of service.

Maxine departed this life on February 25, 2023. Her grandparents, parents and sister preceded her in death. She leaves many to cherish her memory: Charles Theodore Hall, Jr. stepson; Candace L. Apple, stepdaughter; Sherri Hall Harris, stepdaughter; Kelli Hall Jones, stepdaughter; and Peggy Lofties, stepdaughter, nine step grands and four step great grands. Family friends, Faith Johnson, Kim Moberly, Pat Calhoun. Her honorary nephew Marshall Shackelford and family, a relationship that spans generations. Her Eastern Star Family and a multitude of friends too numerous to mention.

Pall Bearers, Marshall Shackelford, Antwoine Shackelford, Blessed Thomas. Anton Thomas.

Minister: Jeffrey A. Johnson Sr., Eastern Star Church, 5750 East 30th Street, Indianapolis, IN 46218