Richard H. Payne

Richard Hurst Payne, 87, of Monroeville, formerly of Charleston, West Virginia, transitioned from this life on Thursday, April 20, 2023. Mr. Payne was born on April 12, 1936, to Thomas L. Payne and Laura Ann (Lifsey) Payne in Charleston, West Virginia. In 1954, Mr. Payne graduated from Henry Highland Garnet High School in Kanawha County, Charleston, West Virginia, a year preceding the federal mandate to integrate public schools. While at Garnet, he played football and basketball and was affectionately known as “The Rabbit” because he would hit you and run in the boxing ring. He played drums for the marching band, served as president of the student council, and was a member of the Boy’s Speech Choir. He went on to study biology at West Virginia State College, now University, with graduate studies at West Virginia University; Indiana University of Bloomington, Indiana; and Marshall University of Huntington, West Virginia. In 1954, Mr. Payne met Barbara Leigh Booker at the Donnally Street pool in Charleston, West Virginia, where he worked as a lifeguard during summer vacation. They married in September 1960 and went on to have four daughters, Ruth Evangeline Payne (Stevens), Ph.D.; Laura Ann Payne (Milton) Chunn, ABD; Richelle Denise Payne (Owens), CCP; and Charlene Yvonne Payne (Covington) Parrish, MBA. Mr. Payne served more than four decades as Lead Equal Opportunity Specialist, responsible for administering Federal laws and policies that ensure all Americans equal access to housing. He served as principal on-site Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity civil rights official under the direction of the Philadelphia Hub Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity with program management provided by the Pittsburgh Office. Previously, he was employed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Stamp Division, where he participated in the introduction of the Food Stamp Program in the City of New York. That appointment was preceded by teaching positions in the Job Corp and the Public School System of Kanawha County, West Virginia. He was instrumental in the establishment of the West Virginia Human Relations Commission, the Charleston Human Rights Commission, the Huntington Human Rights Commission, and the Monroeville, Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission. He is a member of the Garnet Foundation Hall of Fame. He is a Life Member and former president of the Charleston and Monroeville, Pa., Branches of the NAACP, State of WV NAACP Youth Advisor, and co-founder and former president of UNION, a civil rights organization consisting of 35 independent organizations under the umbrella of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) headed by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Also, Mr. Payne served as President of Multi-Cap, a tri-county agency serving the least amongst us. Mr. Payne is a founding member of the Pittsburgh Council of Men, Inc., a founding member of the Tau chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., and a brother of the Washington Masonic Lodge #4 in Charleston, WV. In 2010, Mr. Payne retired from HUD, and completed an associate’s degree in Biblical Studies from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. He also spent time traveling internationally, learning Greek, gardening, and spending time with his wife, his children, eight grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, and family. Mr. Payne was predeceased by his father Thomas L. Payne and his mother Laura (Lifsey) Payne; his brother, Christopher Howard (Helen Berry); two sisters: Shirley Ann and Helen Jurina (Thomas Dolphus Brown); three sisters-in-law: Ernestine (Alvin Cooper, Sr.); Mary Elizabeth (Louis Anthony, Sr.); and four brothers-in-law: Charles Lawrence; Howard Leon; John Leonard and Eddie Lindsey, Sr. He is survived by his wife, Barbara (Booker) Payne; Mary Catherine “Pudgie” Booker and Constance Elizabeth Lindsey. Services will be held at Garden City United Methodist Church, 500 Laurel Drive, Monroeville, Pa., on Saturday, April 29, 2023, with visitation beginning at 4:00 p.m., a service at 5:00 p.m., and a reception at 7:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Garden City United Methodist Church’s 12 Baskets program for the homeless. For more information, contact 412-373-0391. Arrangements entrusted to the GENE H. CORL FUNERAL CHAPEL INC. AND CREMATION SERVICES OF MONROEVILLE. www.corlfuneralchapel.com.