George C. Payne Of Pinehurst, North Carolina, And Formerly Of East Quogue Dies December 8

George C. Payne of Pinehurst, North Carolina and formerly of East Quogue, died on December 8. He was 90.

He was born in Evanston, Illinois on December 31, 1929, to George and Elizabeth (nee Christy) Payne.

Growing up in Mt. Prospect, Illinois, Mr. Payne excelled in many sports (golf, baseball, football), and spent much of his time working hard at the Mt. Prospect Golf Course.

He married his wife Carolyn in May 1951, while Mr. Payne was on a three-day pass from basic training in the Air Force. The two started a life together that would take them to six continents, on countless adventures (they climbed Mt. Fuji in Japan, backpacked around the world in 68 days, rode camels in Egypt, participated in Class A tall ship racing, and many more), to raising a family of five children while moving all over the globe.

Born with the gift of gab, George was never without words, his family said. Mr. Payne’s anecdotes were always hilarious, often grossly exaggerated (or so his family assumes) and told with such vigor that you couldn’t help but be enraptured, his family said.

Mr. Payne’s career in the U.S. Air Force would carry him through two combat engagements (Korea and Vietnam), and to dozens of airbases around the world. The Air Force recognized his leadership ability from the moment he enlisted, his family said. As a master missileman, Mr. Payne was one of the Air Force’s first group of trained jet fighter armament specialists. His leadership and resourcefulness earned him the nickname, “The Fox.” Under his direction, his crew won Best Armament Loading Team so many times that the Air Force rewrote their procedure manuals to bring everyone else up to their performance (so the story goes). In his final years of service, he led a NATO Inspection Team all over Europe, testing the military readiness of NATO partners.

To Mr. Payne, golfing was more than just his favorite pastime, his family said. Not only was he an excellent golfer, they said, but his desire to be a landscape architect led him to design and build a few golf courses on military bases.

After retiring from the Air Force, Mr. Payne ran his own landscaping business in East Quogue or 20 years. He and his wife’s passion for playing golf in retirement brought them to Pinehurst in 1991.

Mr. Payne was truly a Renaissance man and consummate performer, his family said. He learned to play the clarinet and piano at a young age and continued to play well into his 70s. He was also a natural first tenor with perfect pitch, which translated to a lifelong love of singing. He shared his voice for more than 70 years in church choirs, musical performances, variety shows, and just singing for joy, his family said.

He is survived by his wife of 69 years, Carolyn (nee Kraybill); his children, Christine (David) Wright of Whispering Pines, North Carolina, George (Lynn) of Carthage, North Carolina, Robert (Paula) of Skokie, Illinois, and Kathryn (Robert) Tureski of East Quogue; his nine grandchildren, Kathryn Wright (Mike Foust), Amy Wright (Shavar Coffey), Michael Payne, Charles Wright, Jennifer Payne, Rebecca Payne, Robert Tureski, George Payne, and Christian Tureski; three great-grandchildren, Brayden Wright, Kayla Coffey, and Kyle Coffey.

He was predeceased by his son Richard; his sisters Elizabeth and Marilyn (Bell); and his parents.

As a United States Air Force retired senior master sergeant with Bronze Star, his ashes will be entombed at Arlington National Cemetery in the fall of 2021.

Online condolences may be made at www.bolesfuneralhome.com.

Services were entrusted to Boles Funeral Home of Pinehurst.