Daniel B. Payne's Obituary
Daniel B. Payne, 89, of Mesquite, Texas died August 7, 2017 in Mesquite, Texas of a long life. He was born August 31, 1927 to Ovie Franklin Payne and Lula Mae Thornton in Wilton, Arkansas. He was preceded in death by Ovie and Lula Payne; Edith Cornett, Dorothy Blackwell, Mildred Glove, Ola Mae Summer and Lawrance Deaton. Daniel is survived by his wife, Geneva Payne; daughters, Pat and Johnny Johnson, Carolyn and Arthur Skidmore and Becky and Steve Huey; his sons, James and Angelia Payne, Eddie Hughes, and Jimmy Hughes; sisters, Christine Hendrix of Ashdown, Arkansas, Martha Cummings of Texarkana, Arkansas, Pat and Mark Sukiennik of Tyler, Texas, Frances Jones of Ashdown, Arkansas, Ruth Russell of Ashdown, Arkansas; brothers, Burnice and Betty Payne of Kaufman, Texas, Fred Payne of Foreman, Arkansas, Tommy and Martha Payne of Tyler, Texas, and David and Wanda Payne of Ashdown, Arkansas, 20 grandchildren; 36 great grandchildren and 11 great great grandchildren. ——————————————————-Dan’s Story ——————————————————– He lived a long and happy life, all the while nurturing his family and friends. People called him a “Jack of all trades”. So many different passions, hobbies, and skills made him the person he was. Dan was born in Arkansas in 1927. He grew up with his many brothers and sisters in a small country town. Times weren’t easy, so he left school around the 4th grade to help support his family. It was during this time that he began his “Jack of all trades” training. As a young man, he left Arkansas for Texas where he married and started his family. He worked building railroad ties and cutting putt wood – building on and fine tuning his carpenter’s skills. After marrying in 1944 he worked on a dairy farm – perfecting his farmer’s skills. He and the family left Texarkana for Odessa around 1947 where he worked delivering the mud (chemicals in today’s world) to the drilling areas – honing his skills as an oil field worker. During this time they lived in tents. The kids remember him talking about it as the oil rush. They also remember it was during this time, one of Dan’s favorite things was getting hamburgers at the drive-in. In 1960 Dan moved his family to Dallas where he went to work for Mrs. Baird’s bakery – a time where he took on even more projects. I know during his 25 years with them he took on many roles which only added to his life’s resume. During his early years at Mrs. Baird bakery, he did the maintenance for the housing area where the family lived – expanding on the list for his life’s work and accomplishments. Never one to shy away from hard work, he grew a lawn business during his time at the bakery. And after he retired from the bakery he continued his lawn business for several more years. After moving to Day Street he became an avid gardener. I’m sure he was born with this talent as his gardens were not only gorgeous, but the fruits (and veggies) of his efforts were extremely delicious. He remarried in 1993 and moved to Oklahoma where he enjoyed and used every bit of skills from his life’s resume! Creating beautiful gardens, building his house and mowing his property. His favorite pastime? Now, that had to be fishing. I’m sure it was always a love of his but during his time in Oklahoma, he had access to some pretty great ponds. We all have many fond memories of fishing with Dan, but one story, in particular, made me laugh even though I was not there. My brother, some friends, my mom and Dan were going to a favorite pond to fish. Once they arrived they all got out and headed to the pond to do some fishing when they heard, “Help, help”. They turned around to see a hand sticking up out of the grass. Dan had tripped and fallen to the ground. They helped him up, and unaffected by this near catastrophe, Dan insisted they continue on their way to fish – and they all laugh for quite some time. Now, I know that people falling is not funny …but Dan’s love for fishing was great! Nothing was going to stop him from getting to that fishing hole. In 2011 their home was hit by a tornado, but Dan was not discouraged. They continued to live in Oklahoma for several more years before returning to Texas where lived out his remaining years. In closing, please remember all the many fond and funny memories of Dan. We all have them. Remember – it’s those experiences that helped each of us become who we are today. Remember them fondly and keep him close to your heart. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Restland Funeral Home and Memorial Park, 13005 Greenville Avenue, at Restland Road, Dallas, TX 75243.
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