I. Hamilton Payne

Eleanor Towns Hamilton Payne was born March 5, 1931 in Memphis, Tennessee, the only child of the late Dr. Henry Cooke Hamilton and the Honorable Grace Towns Hamilton. She was raised in Atlanta, Georgia, and was surrounded by both sets of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. She lived literally down the street from Atlanta University Center and Morehouse College where her father "Cookie" served as a Professor of Education and the Registrar. She accepted Christ at an early age and was raised as a faithful member of First Congregational Church. Eleanor's education began at the Oglethorpe Practice School at Atlanta University and continued at D.T. Howard Junior High School. After completing ninth grade at Booker T. Washington, then the only Negro high school in Atlanta, she transferred to Putney, a progressive boarding school in Vermont, where she was the first Black student. Eleanor loved her years at Putney and graduated in 1948. She then attended Spelman College, where she made many lifelong friends. Too close to home for her liking, she transferred to Smith College where she earned her bachelors of arts degree in 1952. Eleanor began her career as a teacher at the Burch and Herndon Day Nurseries of Atlanta. She met her future husband, the late Charles Benjamin Payne, Jr., while attending Smith; they married on June 12, 1953 at First Church. She moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania while he attended medical school, and there she gave birth to Deborah in 1954 and Charles III in 1957. Charles Jr. joined the United States Army Medical Corps and they were stationed in Japan where their daughter Lisa was born in 1958. After his military service was completed, the family moved to Cleveland, Ohio where son David was born in 1962. The growing family later moved to the Lee Harvard area of Cleveland. She was a faithful member of the choir at Mt. Zion Congregational Church for many years; she was also a member of Jack & Jill of America, Cleveland Chapter. Eleanor did not return to work until her youngest child began kindergarten. In 1970 Eleanor and the children moved to Shaker Heights, OH. She completed her Masters Degree in Child Psychology at Case Western Reserve University while working at the university's Mental Development Center. She retired early from CWRU in 1990 and returned to Atlanta to care for her beloved mother, "Gracie," a former Georgia state legislator and Executive Director of the Atlanta Urban League. She returned to Cleveland in 1996 to be closer to more of her children and grandchildren. Her granddaughter Jessica came to live with her in 2002. After an extended illness, Eleanor died on Thursday, October 6, 2011. She had a natural ease with and love for all children. She tremendously enjoyed the arts and was a voracious reader. She also loved classical music, shopping, traveling, movies and cats. Most of all she enjoyed her family, which grew to include ten grandchildren: Tamala Mitchell, Jacqueline Wren, Emily Payne, Ryan Jones, Erica Payne, Leah Jones, Charles Payne IV, Jessica Payne, Evan Jones, and Robert Stenson; and two great grandchildren, Johnathan Sislak and Brooklyn Turner. She is also survived by cousins Nell Taylor, Earle Onqué, Roland Yates, Myron and Theodore Towns, Carolyn Webb, Alexander Hamilton V, Donald Hamilton, Vernicki Hamilton, and their offspring. She was loved dearly and will be missed by all.

I. Hamilton Payne

March 5, 1931 - October 6, 2011