Lewis Adair Payne

1914 - 1998  (84 years)

• Name	Lewis Adair Payne
  Birth	15 Mar 1914	Duncan, Stephens County, Oklahoma
  Gender	Male
  Death	18 Aug 1998	Stillwater, Payne County, Oklahoma
  Notes	Lewis was named after David Lewis Adair who was dating a fellow resident of his parent's rented house (corner of 10th and Main, Duncan, OK.). David was so pleased when he was told falsely by the girl that the new baby was being named after him that he purchased a pair of shoes for the child. The gift was gratefully accepted. The name was probably shortened as there was a David L. Payne well known in Oklahoma history (a Yankee captain boomer involved in scandal). 1932 - Attended Ardmore High School. 1933 - In January, he moved to Lefors, Texas, to live with his aunt Pearl for the rest of the academic year. He went to the local High School. He was described on arrival as coming "from Ardmore with a fine [report] card." He immediately became a reporter on the school newspaper 'The Pirate' and gained a schoolwide reputation as a poet and orator. 1934-Graduated from Duncan High School. 1936-8 Began a daily journal which he was to regularly write up for one year. Went to work with a Tulsa barnstormer, Earl Field, and learned aircraft engines on the job. He earned about five dollars a week. He was living with his parents in Duncan. 1940 - Ground Instructor's Certificate # 41961-40 issued 10th October 1940. 1941-- Started teaching at Oklahoma A & M College. Aircraft mechanics certificates #M-64172-41 issued 7 April 1941 1943-45 Aircraft Maintenance Supervisor for Government Flight School, Stillwater, Oklahoma. In 1945, Lewis, his wife Lunora, and their oldest daughter, Robin were living at 511 Hester Street. 1945-46 Self employed, buying and selling surplus wartime aircraft. In the June 7, 1998 Stillwater NewsPress, Steve Clark wrote that for a short time right after World War II, Stillwater had its own "air force...the warplanes-475 bombers and fighters began arriving at Searcy Field in 1945 to be parked until the government could figure out how to dispose of them...All 475 planes were bought by one man: Paul Mantz, the famous air racer and movie stunt pilot who died in the 1960s during the filming of THE FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX....Mantz paid $55,426 for the whole batch, making most, if not all of his money back by draining the planes's fuel tanks and selling the thousands of gallons of 100-octane gasoline. He kept 12 of the warbirds for himself...Most of the leftovers were sold to a scrap dealer from Wichita, though a few others escaped destructions..." Lewis Payne purchased one of the seven P-51 Mustangs in partnership with another man. At some stage his partner crashed and was killed. Lewis turned his share to the insurance money over to the grateful widow...In 1988 there are 51 of these aircraft still flying and each is worth about hald a million dollars. 1946-Pilot certificate #466435 issued on 19 March 1946 1946-1950 Instructor aircraft mechanic 1950-1952 Quality Control Inspector for Convair Aircraft, Fort Worth, Texas. 1952-61 Aircraft electrical shop supervisor, Arabian-American Oil Company, Saudi Arabia. 1961-1964 Started a retail liquor business in Stillwater, Oklahoma. This was not a success in a town where few people drank. 1964-1965 Downtown Airport, Oklahoma City. 1965-1968 Engineer for Philco-Ford Corporation, Fort Benning; Seychelles; Green Hill; Thailand; Vung Tau, Vietnam. 1968- Maintenance Supervisor, Swan Rubber Company, Stillwater, Oklahoma. 1970-1971 Field Engineer with Philco Ford, worked in Taiwan (9 months) and Iran (6 months) erecting still towers. Obituary "Lewis Adair Payne, 84 was a longtime breeder of Arabian horses in addition to being an aircraft mechanic. He was also a retired expatriate engineer. He died Tuesday, 18 August 1998, at Stillwater Medical Center. Cremation arrangements are under the direction of Strode Funeral Home. Private intermment and service will be at a later time in Duncan. Payne was born March 15, 1914, in Duncan, to Marvin Walter Payne and Grace Ellen Gentry; both the children of Oklahoma Pioneers. He married Lunora McWethy in 1943. She is the daughter of William Meade McWethy and Ethel Arretha Phenis both formerly of Stillwater. In the last 37 years of his life, Lewis devoted himself to the breeding of Arabian horses in the Stillwater area. His objective was achieve classical perfection in both body type and movement. His artist's eye later resulted in national recognition from a minority interested in the preservation breeding of this fine horse-celebrated by the 4th century B.C. Greeks in the marble statuary of the Parthenon frieze. At considerable cost to him he did not allow the untutored requirements of the market to damage the historic bloodlines of his horses. For a long time he stood alone. Originally an aircraft mechanic in the later barnstorming days, Lewis was to instruct students in aircraft maintenance for the National Defense Training School during WWII at Searcy Field, the Stillwater airport. From there he spent nine years with his young family in Saudi Arabia working for Aramco. He later became an engineer for Philco-Ford with whom he worked all over the world. He was a man who expanded his formal university classes with very extensive reading and travel. He last journeyed around the world at the age of 80. His curiousity was wide and his interests were cosmopolitan. He was predeceased by two brothers, Claude Chadwick Payne and Marvin Walter Payne and one sister, Mary Olive Thompson. Survivors include his wife of fifty-two years, Lunora; two daughters; Robin White of Joplin, Missouri and Penny Harvey of Glencoe, OK; and two grandsons Bracken White of San Francisco, CA and Gentry White of Columbia, MO and grand-daughter Anne Marie Busse of Joplin, Mo. Memorials may be made to the Stillwater Airport Memorial Museum." Lewis's ashes were buried on a hill, under an oak tree, with a view of Hell Creek below. The burial site was on the land his grandfather Sam homesteaded and where he himself grew up during his teenage years. There was a brief informal religious ceremony conducted by son-in-law Tom White. Afterwords a picnic was served at the East Wing of the Stephens County Fairgrounds. (The above is courtesy of Kenneth and Penny Harvey)
  Person ID	I5924	Strong Family Tree
  Last Modified	17 Aug 2014

  
  

  Father	Marvin Walter Payne,   b. 17 Jan 1881, Gainesville, Cooke County, Texas d. 4 Jan 1948, Duncan, Stephens County, Oklahoma (Age 66 years)
  Mother	Grace Ellen Gentry,   b. 3 Nov 1888, Decatur, Wise County, Texas d. 16 Dec 1966, Stillwater, Payne County, Oklahoma (Age 78 years)
  Marriage	22 Jan 1907	Stephens County, Oklahoma   [1]
  Family ID	F1112	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Lunora McWethy,   b. 10 Feb 1911, Lorena, Beaver County, Oklahoma d. 8 Mar 1999, Stillwater, Payne County, Oklahoma (Age 88 years)
  Marriage	8 May 1943	Pawnee, Pawnee County, Oklahoma
  Children	1. Living   2. Living
  Family ID	F2940	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	9 Dec 2006

  
  

• Event Map		Birth - 15 Mar 1914 - Duncan, Stephens County, Oklahoma Marriage - 8 May 1943 - Pawnee, Pawnee County, Oklahoma Death - 18 Aug 1998 - Stillwater, Payne County, Oklahoma  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Photos

  PAYNE FAMILY REUNION - 1927 Home of Aunt Annie (O'Neill) Sparks - 303 Hickory, Duncan, Oklahoma This 1927 Payne Reunion photo is of 41 people. On September 21-23, 1999, Charles R. Strong along with his mother, Anna Laura "Rooney" (Payne) Strong and two aunts ? Dora Fay (Payne) Pierce-Yeager and Lois Marie (Payne) Hanna reviewed the picture. The late Lewis Adair Payne had already prepared his own list identifying all persons. Both list had errors. Mary Gwendolyn ?Marilynn? (Payne) Wade of Marlow later helped Charles Strong reconcile the two lists and correct some errors. One reason for differences in the two lists was due to the existence of two pictures, which were almost, but not exactly, identical. This photo slightly differs from Aunt Annie?s version. . NOTE-The list below is numbered left to right - top to bottom. The first number is sequential in total, and the second number is position within the row. TOP ROW 1 1 Paul Puckett, Boy living with Hattie (Brown) Payne. 2 2 Mabel Lyles 3 3 Baby is Mary Gwendolyn ?Marilynn? (Payne) Wade. 4 4 Joseph Ray ?Jodey? Payne Jr. 5 5 Virginia (Payne) Hardin - d. of Walter W., # 22 below 6 6 Vera (Payne) Roberts-Young, -d. of Walter W. #22 and mother of #30 below 7 7 Mary Ethyl (Payne) Benton-Madison-Parker. d. of W. W. # 22 8 8 Claude Chadwick Payne 9 9 Ruth Hazel Witherspoon-d. of Mable (Gentry) Witherspoon, d. of John Price Gentry. 10 10 Florence Scott d. of # 23 Lou Payne Scott & niece of W.W. Payne 11 11 Marvin Walter Payne Sr. Father of #'s 8, 28, 37, & 38 12 12 Gracie (Gentry) Payne Wife of # 11 Marvin W. Payne 13 13 Rene Gentry - s. of Frank Melton and Ada (Jones) Gentry, and nephew of Gracie #12 14 14 Edna (Surginer) Payne, First wife of John Earl (Dukie) Payne 15 15 John Earl, (Dukie) Payne 16 16 Caroline "Carrie" (Cover) Payne 17 17 Harry Carl Payne,Sr. MIDDLE ROW 18 1 William "Billy" West - Grandson of # 23, Louise (Payne) Scott 19 2 Joseph Ray Payne, s. of Wm. Henry H. Payne 20 3 C. Frank Payne, Brother to # 11, Marvin W. Payne Sr. 21 4 Annie (O'Neill) Sparks, Wife of #26 22 5 Walter Winkle Payne 23 6 Louise "Lula" (Payne) Scott 24 7 Hattie (Brown) Payne 25 8 Orville Scott 26 9 James Rufus Sparks f. of # 33, Mary Pat (Sparks) Kubic BOTTOM ROW 27 1 Anna Laura "Rooney" (Payne) Strong 28 2 Mary Olive (Payne) Thompson 29 3 Mary Ethyl (Benton) Jones 30 4 Clifford "Bosco" Roberts 31 5 Virginia Payne, sister to # 4 above, and d. of Joseph R. & g.d. Wm. H. H. Payne ? 32 6 Dora Fay (Payne) Pierce - Yeager 33 7 Mary Pat (Sparks) Kubik 34 8 Francis Hardin, d. of Virginia Payne Hardin, # 5 above, (in lap of Mary Pat) 35 9 Thelma (Gentry) Callaway - d. of Edgar J. Gentry & g.d. of Wm. M. Gentry 36 10 Lois Marie (Payne) Hanna 37 11 Lewis Adair Payne 38 12 Marvin Walter "Snort" Payne Jr. in Lewis' lap. 39 13 Willie Lee "Billy" Payne ? 40 14 Paul James Payne 41 15 Jean Bruce (Benton) Turner

  
  

• Sources

  [S315] Rainey, Juanita (sparklestree@aol.com) "Juanita's Family Tree" Ver. Jun 23 22:39:06 2003; http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=gentry536.