DECEMBER 17, 1939 – JULY 18, 2026
In the Care of Laird Funeral Home
A Mass of Christian Burial for Elizabeth Ann Payne, 86, of Nacogdoches, will be held at 1:00pm on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church with Father Matthew Stehling officiating. Interment will follow at Moral Cemetery. A visitation will be held from 5-7pm on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, at Laird Funeral Home with a Rosary to begin at 6:00pm.
Mrs. Payne passed away on Saturday, July 18, 2026, in Longview, Texas.
She was born to Stanley and Mary Carmel Krovontka on December 17, 1939, at Barksdale Field in Shreveport, Louisiana where her father was stationed as a member of the U.S. Army Air Corps (later the U.S. Air Force). She lived in several different states during her childhood, due to her father’s military career; when he retired, the family returned to her parent’s hometown of Galveston, Texas. She attended high school in Galveston, graduating as the valedictorian of her high school graduating class at Ursuline Academy, a Catholic girls’ school, in 1958.
She married Joe W. Payne in 1959 at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Galveston and their marriage was blessed with three children. She and her husband lived primarily in the Houston/Galveston area throughout their marriage. She was a devout Catholic Christian and focused mostly on being a wife and mother, including serving as the primary caregiver for her son after he was injured in a diving accident as a young adult; but she also had stints of employment at TXI and Walmart. In the 1990’s, she moved with her son to Nacogdoches.
She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, and two of her siblings, Carmel Rinker and Paul Krovontka. She is survived by her son, Lee W. Payne of Nacogdoches; daughter Angela Ward & husband Robert of Longview and Edith Schneider & husband Tommie of Damon; her sister Marcie Coppedge of Sugar Land; her brother Stanley Krovontka & wife Donna of Georgetown; eight grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
Elizabeth was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother and sister who will be greatly missed.
If you so desire, donations may be made to Immaculate Conception Catholic Church at 1422 CR 724, Nacogdoches, Texas 75964.
To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Elizabeth Ann (Krovontka) Payne, please visit Laird Funeral Home’s floral store.