Mary Ruth Payne

Mary Ruth Payne was born on October 23, 1919, in Little York, Indiana, and died at the age of 97 in Sarasota, Florida, on December 20, 2016. Ruth is preceded in death by her parents Paul and Jessie Garriott; her husband Eugene Payne; her siblings Colby Garriott and wife Marie, Fern Bryan and husband Hugh, Paul Garriott, Marion Garriott, Alice Polley, Daniel Garriott, and a sibling that was stillborn; her sons Paul Payne and wife Sally, and Richard Payne and late wife Sharon; and her great granddaughter Crystal Ash.

Ruth is survived by sisters-in-law Darlene Garriott and Jean Garriott; children Gary Payne and wife Joyce, and Jenean Cooley and husband Troy; son- and daughter-in-law Claude Polley and Angel Payne; mother of grandchildren Marcella Garriott; grandchildren Deborah Ash, Mendy Gray and husband Jerry, Yvette Altman and husband John, Timothy Payne and wife Jennifer, Tonya Steed and husband Chance, David Wagner and wife Amy, Robin Owens and husband Christopher, Richard Payne and wife Rachel, and Morgan Cooley and husband Michael; great grandchildren Jessica Wieczorek, Darrell Ash, Scott Lee, Sara Jackson and husband Zachery, Daniel Altman, Sky Ellis, Faith Ellis, Lonnie Ellis, Zachery Ellis, Jennifer Eisenmann and husband David, Lisa Moscato, Scott Moscato, Brandy Chevrette, Paul Chevrette and wife Ignacia, Lily Steed, Ivy Steed, Zhen Steed, McKenna Beery, Camryn Wagner, Payne Owens, Evangeline Owens, Auburn Owens, Liam Owens, Saxon Payne, Lochlan Payne, Arista Payne; great-great grandchildren Marissa Niebrugge, Kristopher Niebrugge, Jade Garbers, Denton Ash, Wyatt Jackson, Eli Jackson, Nathaniel Eisenmann, Kaitlynn Eisenmann, Abigail Eisenmann, Remi Chevrette, Blaise Chevrette, and Xia Martinez; and a multitude of extended family members and loved ones.

To say that Ruth was loving, energetic, and strong would be an understatement. In spite of many losses and hardships in her life, she was eternally optimistic, hopeful, and never accepted the word “can’t” or “defeat.” She was witty and sharp as a tack. The family joke, coined by Ruth herself, was that she “wasn’t stubborn, [she was] determined.” Ruth was determined to love and help as many people as possible before she died. To her family she was known as Grandma Payne and to anyone who wanted, she was Aunt Ruth. She loved hummingbirds; Yoo-hoo; persimmon pudding; bowling on her league; playing Rummikub, Skip-Bo, and dominoes with her sisters, grandchildren, and anyone else she could convince to join her; hosting beach picnics and family reunions; sewing; reading; cooking; keeping up with family and friends over Facebook, email, or by talking on the phone for hours; word search puzzles; Fox News; British comedies; and meeting new people and taking them to church with her. Most of all, she treasured her time with her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren. As a rite of passage, Ruth set up her Facebook account when she was 91-years-old.

Ruth fully embodied the mission put forth by John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church: “Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.” She never gave up on people no matter how long it took because she knew that with God all things are possible. Second to her faith in Jesus, the most important thing to Ruth was her family. However, there were multiple occasions when she saw people in need and made herself available to help at a moment’s notice, whether they were part of her family or not. For Ruth, there was always room for more: in her car, at the dinner table, on her couch, or in her church. Her life of 97 years was and will continue to be an inspiration of what God, through Jesus, can do with us.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Florida United Methodist Children’s Home, 51 Children’s Way, Enterprise, FL 32725.