John "Jack" Christopher Payne

Jack Payne, 77, walked into the loving arms of his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on the morning of Thursday, September 2, 2021. He was born on December 7, 1943, in Atlanta, Georgia, to the late Herbert Joseph and Annie Ruth Crouch Payne.

While growing up in the East Point/Atlanta area, Jack discovered a great opportunity to earn a dollar by delivering newspapers to the people of his community. He and his brother, Mike, successfully ran the paper route until his graduation from Russell High School in 1963. Upon graduating, Jack attended business college and worked for Davison’s of Atlanta before enlisting in the United States Army. He proudly served his country as a Vietnam Combat Veteran and risked his life daily as a door gunner in the UH-1 (Huey) helicopter. Jack was honorably discharged from the military in October of 1968 having received a National Defense Service Medal, a Vietnam Service Medal, a Vietnam Campaign Medal and a Purple Heart.

On February 27, 1970, Jack made the lovely Joyce Fay Pirkle, his wife. They settled in the middle Georgia area with their growing family, and years later, Jack became the Director of Financial Aid at Middle Georgia Technical College. He retired in 2010. Jack was a superb family man who loved his wife and three boys so much. Through the years, he boundlessly supported his wife throughout her ministry as a conference evangelist of the South Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church and was extremely proud of his boys and each of their lives’ accomplishments. He was a hands-on dad and truly enjoyed coaching his boys in baseball, basketball and soccer at the Warner Robins Recreation Department for many years. Jack’s love and support for his wife and sons carried forward to his grandchildren as he would mail gifts to them every single week. In addition to being his family’s number one fan, Jack was an avid reader, a history buff, and an avid sports fan, but college football was his absolute favorite. He was a true-blue (and yellow) Georgia Tech football fan. GO JACKETS!!! Bonaire Methodist was his church home.

Those left to cherish his memory are his loving wife of 51 years, Joyce Pirkle Payne; children, John “J.C.” Payne of Houston, Texas, Eric Payne (Robin) of Kathleen and Andy Payne (Heather) of Warner Robins; grandchildren, Abigail Payne, Noah Payne (Joy), Mia Adams and Lucas Payne; brother, Mike Payne (Judy) of Newnan; mother-in-law, Carolyn Pirkle of Macon; brother-in-law, David Pirkle (Sharon) of Macon; and nephew, David Payne (Radhi).

Due to the Covid Pandemic, Jack will be privately laid to rest with a graveside service for his immediate family on Saturday, September 4, 2021, at Magnolia Park Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully suggests memorial donations be given in memory of Jack to your favorite charity.

Learn about the measures McCullough Funeral Home is taking to ensure the health and safety of our guests at mcculloughfh.com. There you can also sign an Online Registry for the family. McCullough Funeral Home and Crematory has the privilege of being entrusted with these arrangements.