Hanford "Hank" Payne

Hanford “Hank” Lloyd Payne 97, of Oakley passed away on November 9th, 2021. He was born in Myrtle, MO on September 10th, 1924, to John W Payne & Laura A Hollis. He was the oldest of 5 children. His siblings were Robert, Alma, Howard, and Gladys Payne. His mother passed while giving birth to Gladys. Hank being the oldest raised the 3 oldest siblings when his dad was at work, while Gladys was raised by her Aunt and Uncle.

Hank tried his hand at farming before going to work at TWA where he eventually became a supervisor. He retired from TWA in 1985. Hank & Betty Payne were married in April of 1989 in Independence, MO, where they lived before moving to Cotter, AK where they enjoyed fishing in the White River. Some years later they moved to Blue Springs, MO to be closer to family and enjoy retirement. In 2013 they moved to Oakley, KS be near to Betty’s kids.
Hank loved to listen to his country albums, watching the Grand Ole Opry, woodworking, gardening, hunting and fishing.

Hank had one daughter, Shery Lankford, who passed away on February 1st, 2015. Hank leaves behind his wife of 32 years, Betty Payne; grandson, John Bradley Lankford, Pleasant Hill, MO; granddaughter, Kristin Kay Lankford, Springfield, MO; four great grandchildren, Devin Kemper, Tyler Hines, Jill Burns, & Thomas Hines and 4 great-great grandchildren.