1953
Rebecca
2011
Rebecca Payne
January 14, 1953 — March 25, 2011
Funeral services for Rebecca "Becky" Payne of Minnetonka, will be held Saturday, April 2, 2011 at 1:00 pm at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Glenwood. Officiants will be Father Peter Kirchner, Father Eb Scheffers and Deacon Frank Schmainda. Visitation will be held Friday from 6 to 8 pm, with a prayer service at 7:30 pm, at the Starbuck Funeral Home in Starbuck, as well as one hour prior to services at the church on Saturday. Burial will be at St. Bridget's Catholic Cemetery in DeGraff.
Rebecca (Becky) Jean Payne was born on January 14, 1953, in Benson, Minnesota, to Bud and Betty (Foley) Payne. Becky grew up on a farm in Hancock being somewhat of a "tomboy." She graduated from Hancock High School with the Class of 1970. Becky graduated from Alexandria Technical College in 1971 and started her first job in the summer of 1971. She worked in metro area hospitals, including North Memorial and Fairview-St Mary's, in Colorado Springs, and in Seattle as Executive Assistant to the CEO of Swedish Hospital before returning to the Twin Cities in 2001 to be the Executive Assistant to the Executive Director of the Immunization Action Coalition, Dr. Deborah Wexler, until her death.
Becky lived life to the fullest always giving 110% to whatever she was doing. Throughout her life, Becky took classes to expand her horizons, from Chinese cooking to calligraphy to photography and the guitar. She shared her love of cooking and grilling with family and friends, hosting "family" nights and making special birthday dinners for family members. Her sense of adventure was fulfilled by traveling around Europe in her youth and then traveling to Hong Kong and China in 1996.
Part of Becky's ancestry is Irish and Ireland was in her soul. She traveled to Ireland multiple times and fell in love with the people and the music. Becky traveled extensively throughout the U.S. and enjoyed summer road trips with her sisters, nieces, and nephews. Becky had a talent for creating personalized birthday cards with humorous poems for family and friends. To receive one of her cards was an honor. Becky enjoyed reading, walking, working out, solving Sudokus, crossword puzzles, and word puzzles. She was a sports fan, following the Vikings and especially the Twins. The sporting events she enjoyed the most were the sports played by her nieces and nephews. She was their biggest and best fan, regardless of the game or the outcome.Becky introduced her nieces and nephews to her eclectic taste in music. Her favorite music performances were by her nieces and nephews no matter the level of expertise or the instrument. Becky loved movies and could answer almost any Trivia question on entertainment. Becky was the family historian and communicator, creating monthly updates and publishing the annual family calendar. She was the glue that connected her family. Becky sent daily jokes to her Dad and shared them with her co-workers. Her sense of humor, laughter, and smile touched all who knew her. Becky enjoyed playing pinochle with her Dad and won with humility.
Becky's faith sustained her, especially after the recent loss of her mother. What she loved above all was her family and friends, always doing for others and downplaying her role. She was inordinately bad at taking a compliment. Becky's sense of adventure and fun, her unselfishness and depth of compassion are a few of the precious gifts she gave to those who knew and loved her.
She passed away peacefully at N. C. Little Hospice in Edina, Minnesota, on March 25, 2011, at the age of 58.
Becky is survived by her father Albert 'Bud' Payne of Starbuck; siblings: Kathy Payne of Minnetonka, Warren Payne (Ginger Schneider) of Lake City, David (Sue) Payne of Hibbing, Daniel (Gayle) Payne of Morris, Marg (Tom) Schmitz of Rosholt, SD, Brian (Kristi) Payne of Princeton, Christine (Keith) Rieckman of Willmar, Brenda (Steve DeMorett) Payne of Sartell, Rob (Maureen) Payne of Freeport, and Stephanie Payne (fiancé Marcus Howard) of Edina; 23 nieces and nephews: Jennifer (Joe) Fort, Melissa Payne, Tony (Leah) Payne, Karey (Jason Strege) Payne, Josh (Andrea) Payne, Joe (Sarah) Payne, Dawn (Sam) Weigel, Jeff Schmitz, Paul Schmitz, Nathan (Stacy) Payne, Jeremy (MaKayla) Payne, Tyler (Stephanie) Payne, Ryan Rieckman, Brandon Rieckman, Ben DeMorett, Connor DeMorett, Evan DeMorett, Logan Payne, Becca Schmitz, Logan Schmitz, Katana Howard, Quarrille Howard, and Nokoma Howard; 8 great nieces and nephews: Eva and Charles Fort, Amelia Payne, Warren Payne, Lexington Payne, Jack Payne, Dylan Keim, and Mason Rach; as well as her Hong Kong family: Carissa (Bosco Tjan) Pang and Daniel Tjan, Sukyee (Yinsze Lam) and Tia Lam. Preceding her in death were her mother and grandparents.
In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred.
**In lieu of flowers, the family prefers memorials in Becky's name**
Rebecca (Becky) Jean Payne was born on January 14, 1953, in Benson, Minnesota, to Bud and Betty (Foley) Payne. Becky grew up on a farm in Hancock being somewhat of a "tomboy." She graduated from Hancock High School with the Class of 1970. Becky graduated from Alexandria Technical College in 1971 and started her first job in the summer of 1971. She worked in metro area hospitals, including North Memorial and Fairview-St Mary's, in Colorado Springs, and in Seattle as Executive Assistant to the CEO of Swedish Hospital before returning to the Twin Cities in 2001 to be the Executive Assistant to the Executive Director of the Immunization Action Coalition, Dr. Deborah Wexler, until her death.
Becky lived life to the fullest always giving 110% to whatever she was doing. Throughout her life, Becky took classes to expand her horizons, from Chinese cooking to calligraphy to photography and the guitar. She shared her love of cooking and grilling with family and friends, hosting "family" nights and making special birthday dinners for family members. Her sense of adventure was fulfilled by traveling around Europe in her youth and then traveling to Hong Kong and China in 1996.
Part of Becky's ancestry is Irish and Ireland was in her soul. She traveled to Ireland multiple times and fell in love with the people and the music. Becky traveled extensively throughout the U.S. and enjoyed summer road trips with her sisters, nieces, and nephews. Becky had a talent for creating personalized birthday cards with humorous poems for family and friends. To receive one of her cards was an honor. Becky enjoyed reading, walking, working out, solving Sudokus, crossword puzzles, and word puzzles. She was a sports fan, following the Vikings and especially the Twins. The sporting events she enjoyed the most were the sports played by her nieces and nephews. She was their biggest and best fan, regardless of the game or the outcome.Becky introduced her nieces and nephews to her eclectic taste in music. Her favorite music performances were by her nieces and nephews no matter the level of expertise or the instrument. Becky loved movies and could answer almost any Trivia question on entertainment. Becky was the family historian and communicator, creating monthly updates and publishing the annual family calendar. She was the glue that connected her family. Becky sent daily jokes to her Dad and shared them with her co-workers. Her sense of humor, laughter, and smile touched all who knew her. Becky enjoyed playing pinochle with her Dad and won with humility.
Becky's faith sustained her, especially after the recent loss of her mother. What she loved above all was her family and friends, always doing for others and downplaying her role. She was inordinately bad at taking a compliment. Becky's sense of adventure and fun, her unselfishness and depth of compassion are a few of the precious gifts she gave to those who knew and loved her.
She passed away peacefully at N. C. Little Hospice in Edina, Minnesota, on March 25, 2011, at the age of 58.
Becky is survived by her father Albert 'Bud' Payne of Starbuck; siblings: Kathy Payne of Minnetonka, Warren Payne (Ginger Schneider) of Lake City, David (Sue) Payne of Hibbing, Daniel (Gayle) Payne of Morris, Marg (Tom) Schmitz of Rosholt, SD, Brian (Kristi) Payne of Princeton, Christine (Keith) Rieckman of Willmar, Brenda (Steve DeMorett) Payne of Sartell, Rob (Maureen) Payne of Freeport, and Stephanie Payne (fiancé Marcus Howard) of Edina; 23 nieces and nephews: Jennifer (Joe) Fort, Melissa Payne, Tony (Leah) Payne, Karey (Jason Strege) Payne, Josh (Andrea) Payne, Joe (Sarah) Payne, Dawn (Sam) Weigel, Jeff Schmitz, Paul Schmitz, Nathan (Stacy) Payne, Jeremy (MaKayla) Payne, Tyler (Stephanie) Payne, Ryan Rieckman, Brandon Rieckman, Ben DeMorett, Connor DeMorett, Evan DeMorett, Logan Payne, Becca Schmitz, Logan Schmitz, Katana Howard, Quarrille Howard, and Nokoma Howard; 8 great nieces and nephews: Eva and Charles Fort, Amelia Payne, Warren Payne, Lexington Payne, Jack Payne, Dylan Keim, and Mason Rach; as well as her Hong Kong family: Carissa (Bosco Tjan) Pang and Daniel Tjan, Sukyee (Yinsze Lam) and Tia Lam. Preceding her in death were her mother and grandparents.
In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred.
**In lieu of flowers, the family prefers memorials in Becky's name**
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