George Claude Payne, 94, of Keystone Heights entered his heavenly home October 4, 2024. Born in Eliot, Maine, to the late Francis and Relefa McIntire Payne on January 2, 1930, George moved to Denmark, Maine, with his family in 1945. He was next to the oldest of eleven children. From an early age he worked on his family's farm and took on jobs at neighboring farms as well. As a teenager he had various interesting jobs, such as cutting ice from the frozen lake to pack in the icehouse with sawdust to keep for the summer. He worked for a while as a lumberjack and also spent some time working in a wool mill. He was a retired veteran of the US Army and the Florida National Guard, where he held a civil service position. He retired with the rank of Master Sergeant from Camp Blanding after faithfully serving his county for over 36 years. He had served in the European Theater of Operations during the Korean War. Upon returning to the United States, he met and married Joyce Burke of Jacksonville, FL, on November 1, 1953. In 1958 they moved to Keystone Heights, FL. Together they traveled most of the United States and parts of Canada in their travel trailer in 1976. They also traveled to Europe. He loved to hunt, fish, work in his garden, and tend to his citrus trees. He raised cattle as a hobby for over 20 years. He served as a member of the Bradford county Farm Bureau for several years. He loved to learn new things. At the age of 94 he took a class on how to use an I-phone. George surrendered his life to serve his Lord and Savior in the 1950's. He was baptized in Lake Geneva. He was a diligent follower all of his days. George was preceded in death by his parents; his loving wife of 70 years, Joyce Payne; sisters Gwendolyn Teague and Velma Ellis; brothers Francis Payne Jr., Carroll Payne, Rayfield Payne, Dennis Payne, Herbert Payne and Roland Payne; and his grandson Timothy Edwards. He is survived by his daughters Angela Church (Kenneth) of Keystone Heights and Kathleen Edwards (Larry) of Hawthorne; son George Payne Jr (Angie) of Keystone Heights; sister Sandra Utterstrom of West Falmouth, Maine and Robert Payne of Raymond, Maine; six grandchildren; Lana Tran, Kara Jones, Curtis Edwards, Savannah Payne, Tyler Payne, and Hannah Payne. He had ten great-grandchildren; Gillian Edwards, Maura Tran, Ben Tran, Ayden Jones, Alice Edwards, Brooke Edwards, Kael Edwards, Noah Edwards, Granger Payne, Maycee Payne, and a baby Payne on the way. He was loved dearly by his family.A Celebration of Life Service for Mr. Payne will be held on Saturday, November 2, 2024, at Gadara Baptist Church with Pastor's Ken Herring and Justin Brown officiating with visitation at 10am and service at 11am . In Lieu of flowers donations may be made to Gadara Baptist Church Building Fund or Lake Swan Camp, Melrose. Cemetery Hope Baptist Church Cemetery 3900 State Road 100 Starke FL 32091 US A Celebration of Life Saturday, November 2, 2024 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Gadara Baptist Church 6779 County Road 315C Keystone Heights FL 32656 US Funeral Home Jones-Gallagher Funeral Home, LLC. 620 E. Nona St. Starke FL - 32091 US