Burleigh (L.B.) Payne

Lester Burleigh Payne was born August 5, 1931 in Arizona, to Inez Schroder and Alvin Payne, during the Dust Bowl and depression days.  His family traveled the country working as itinerate farm workers picking cotton, potatoes, fruit, vegetables and whatever else was available. His family finally settled on the farm south of Pritchett which was an exciting event for the whole family.  Burleigh had to drop out of school to work on the farm because his father passed away when he was just 15 years old.  Though his first marriage to Frankie ended in divorce, he loved his son Alvin (Becky), and saw him as frequently as possible.  In 1950 he married Retah Cameron, and they added daughters Linda Hoffman (Robert), Serena Eiler (Dewayne) and Barbara Turner.  They lost a son at birth, Harold.  Burleigh highly prized education and insisted his kids work hard to make good grades; he regretted having to drop out of school at the age of 15. His kids worked on harvest along with the rest of the family, and were adept at driving trucks and combines as well as everything else.

He farmed fo r several years, before becoming a custom Harvester, cutting grain of all types from May to November or December. There were ma ny adventures, both thrilling and terrifying , as he crisscrossed the country with his whole family ,( including grandma) in tow. He was very mechanically gifted and could fix or fabricate almost anything. This proved to be essential, as something was con stantly broken . He finished out his last years harvesting in Baca County to be clo se to home and keep it simple.  H e was 83 his last year of harvest.

His faith was strong, and he and Mom spent a lot of time worshiping in church and with friends. There were many bible study sessions at the house, which he and Retah enjoyed so much. He ev entually lost his hearing , which affected his ability to communicate with his family and friends.

He was prece ded in death by his mother and f ather, Alvin and Inez Payne, a son Harold Payne, his sister and brother in l aw Dale and Lucille V erner, his son in Law Tim Turner, a grandson Chris Turner and a host of other family and friends.  He is survived by his children, 9 grandchildren, 9 great grand children, and 2 great- great grandchildren.

He will be missed.