Vera Ann Roberts Payne

Vera Ann Roberts Payne, 95, of Abbotts Creek Rehabilitation Care Center, formerly of Easter Road, died Thursday, December 31, 2009, at the center. The funeral will be 2 p.m. Saturday, January 2, 2010, at Leonard Road Baptist Church, where she was a member, with the Rev. Tommy Hepler officiating. Burial will follow in Forest Hill Memorial Park. Mrs. Payne was born September 22, 1914, in Hamilton County, Tenn., to James Reed Roberts and Elmira Cain Roberts. She was preceded in death by her husband, Gid Wilson Payne Sr.; daughter, Charlene Gillian; brother, Dennis Roberts; and sisters, Lavada Byrd, Emma Burdett, Betha Higgins, Mavis Webb, and Nellie Greenwood. Surviving are sons, David Ray Payne and wife, Dorthy, and Gid Payne Jr. and wife, Brenda, all of Lexington; daughters, Reba Sholtz and Barbara Johnson, both of Lexington; 21 grandchildren; several great-grandchildren; and sisters, Lenoir Parnell of Tennessee, Bernice Byrd of Mississippi, and Patty Sully of Georgia. The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, January 1, 2010, at Davidson Funeral Home. Memorials may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, P.O. Box 1000, Department 300, Memphis, TN 38148-0552.