Bruce Ernest Payne
November 17, 1929 ~ September 10, 2016
Resided in:
Weaverville, NC
Mr. Bruce Ernest Payne, 86, of Weaverville, NC, departed this life on Saturday afternoon, September 10, 2016 at the Solace Center of Asheville, surrounded by family and friends. He was born on November 17, 1929 in Madison County, North Carolina to the late Troy Branks and Eulala Massey Payne and lived most of his life in Buncombe County. He was preceded in death by three sisters, Freda Worley, Jeanne Williams, June Bell and a brother Fred Payne.
As a young man, Bruce sang bass in the original Payne family quartet, who had a weekly radio program on WWNC and recorded several records. He graduated from Walnut High School and then served in the US Army for two years, spending time in Germany and Austria. He was a dedicated employee of more than 28 years at Square D Company, and always held the Square D family in the highest regard. He obtained his BS in management from A-B Tech during those years. After retirement from Square D, he enjoyed working with his brother Delmar at Home Electric and Furniture Company in Marshall, where his knack for fixing anything that was broken came in handy.
He was proud of his children and grandchildren and enjoyed just being with them and watching them play sports whenever possible. He always enjoyed working in his vegetable gardens and always had more than enough to share with family and friends. He was most recently a member of West Asheville Baptist Church and loved his Sunday School Class although he wasn't able to attend in his later years.
He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Mary Ellen Gudger Payne, of Candler; a son Michael S. Payne (Patti), of Candler; a son Steven G. Payne (Kristie), of Candler; and a daughter Suzanne P. North (Brian) of Greensboro. His grandchildren are Jordan Payne (Amy), of Laramie, WY, Jared Payne (Morgan), of Asheboro, NC, Jacob Payne, Hunter Payne, Kyra Latson and Kamya Latson, all of Candler, Megan North and Rachel North, of Greensboro; brothers, Delmar Payne, of Weaverville and Gerald Payne (Sharonne), of Maiden, NC; and many nieces and nephews.
The family will receive friends on Tuesday evening, September 13, 2016 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Groce Funeral Home on Patton Ave. with a graveside service at Forest Lawn Cemetery on Wednesday, September 14, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. The service will be officiated by Rev. Tony Hooper of West Asheville Baptist Church.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to West Asheville Baptist Church Building Fund.
We will forever be grateful to our church families for their love and support during these times and we want to extend a very special thank-you to all of the highly skilled care givers on the G700 Floor of Mission Hospital, the extraordinary care of CarePartners Solace Center, and the exceptional, long-term daily love and personal care dad received from the staff at Pisgah Villa Assisted Living and Pisgah Manor Nursing Home over the years. Words will never describe the wonderful care you all provided to our father.
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My thoughts and prayers are with you all in this difficult time. How fortunate we are to know that we will see him again one day soon! May God grant you peace and strength.
Mike, Patti and family our thoughts and prayers are with all of you at this time.
Mike, Patti and all the family. Our thoughts and prayers are with you during these trying times. Be comforted that you will see him again one day. We love you guys and will be praying for you in the coming hard days without your precious loved one.
Mike, Patti and all the family. Our thoughts and prayers are with you during these trying times. Be comforted that you will see him again one day. We love you guys and will be praying for you in the coming hard days without your precious loved one.
I’m so sorry for your loss. Bruce was a gentle giant and an incredibly kind man.
Sincere Sympathy to the family. Mr. Payne was a great example of a true Christian Man.
Mike & Patti & boys…….I didn’t know Bruce, but I’ve heard wonderful things about him. I hope you can tell by all the comments, calls, & texts that many prayers are being offered for your family. I hope you can feel the love.
So, so sorry for your loss.
Coach,
Sorry about the passing of your dad. Prayers for your family.
Remembering our years working together at Square D Company. Bruce was a thoughtful and caring person who was well-liked for his good nature and fairness as a supervisor. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends. He was a class guy.
Sorry for your loss. God be with you and bless you. Prayers for the family
so sorry for your loss Mike. I will keep you and your family in my thoughts and prayers during this time.
Mary Ellen, Mike, Steve, and Suzi,
We are praying for the Comfort of the Holy Spirit to encamp about you all in this time of such loss.Bruce was always so kind to my familly, I know you all will miss him so very much.
We love you all!
Tammy and Mark Zimmermann and family
Bruce was a kind and gentle man. When I looked at his beautiful blue eyes I saw those same eyes passed on to his children. I know that he will be missed my many and I am thinking of Mike, Steve and Suzie as they adjust to his passing. I know you are all at peace with his healing in heaven but it’s still hard to handle loss. Praying that your memories comfort you during this time.
I’m so sorry to hear of Mr Payne’s passing, Patti has been keeping us informed on Facebook! You’re all in our prayers! God Bless!
Mike and Patti,
We are so sorry for your loss. Our prayers are for you and the family during this time that you may find peace and comfort knowing that you will see you father again one day. May you find your strength in God. We are sending our love.
Mike, Suzie, Steve, Tom and I are so sorry to hear of Uncle Bruce’s passing. Our hearts go out to you all. Unfortunately we will not be able to make it back to NC for the funeral. We are in the middle of another school year here at UNA. Hopefully we will be moving back to the Carolinas sometime next year. I would love to see everyone and catch up with you all. Love to you all,
Lynda
Dear Payne Family,
I worked with Bruce at SQD and it was a pleasure to have known him. You are in my thoughts and prayers.
Gwen (Vaughn) Hammes
Steve and Suzy, so sorry to hear about your Father’s passing. You are in my thoughts and prayers.
We are so sorry for your loss. Praying for God’s grace and mercy to carry you through this most difficult time. May God bless you!
Patti and Michael, We are deeply saddened to learn of Mr. Bruce’s death. He was such a dear, sweet man, always with a sweet smile and kind word. We certainly missed he and Mr. Delmar when they moved to Candler (and you too, Patti). We were honored that they chose our ‘chicken house’ so often. Please give Mr. Delmar a hug for us. You are all in our thoughts and prayers.
Extending deep and heartfelt sympathy to you and your family. I didn’t know Mr. Bruce Payne for long but glad I had the pleasure of the time I did.
Mike and Patti we are so sorry to hear of your father’s passing. You are in our thoughts and prayers.
SO SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS.
With the deepest sympathy to such a wonderful loving family… While we are temporarily separated now, it’s such an assurance through Gods grace we will see then again. God bless y’all, prayers lifted durung this time.
so sorry about Your Dads passing, may God give you the comfort and strength in the coming days. God Bless
Prayers are being lifted up for all those who knew and loved him.
Mike and Patti – you are in my prayers.
Kathryne Jones
Mr. Bruce was a wonderful man. Not only to his family but to other people. I was honored to have been on of the people at pisgah villa to be able to take care of him and got to know what a sweet man he was. Got to know his sweet family. He was a blessing to me. Miss you Mr. Bruce . Prayers to the family. Sincerely Shavonda Matthews
Mike, Patti and family we know Bruce is rejoicing with the Lord now. I know you will miss him. We’re asking God to give the family comfort and strength in the days ahead.
Payne Family. I am so sorry to hear about Bruce he was one of my favorite cousins. I worked with him at Square D. Sorry I did not get to make it.l will always treasure his love and friendship, I know he will greatly be missed. Prayers for the family. Sueann Payne Maynor
Gerald and I would like to extend condolences to the Payne family. Bruce and Delmar and their wives have been beloved neighbors in the Rolling Acres community for many years. We enjoyed our conversations on the street and at neighborhood picnics about all manner of things, the hardware business, Bruce’s travel stories, and the always friendly greetings and offers of help. I will always remember the two tall gentle brothers whom we had the pleasure to know these past years.