Sandra Payne

Sandra Payne of Franklin, Tennessee, peacefully passed into the arms of Jesus, her Savior, on December 20, 2024, at age 86. Born on February 10, 1938, to Ebenezer and Edith Dawson of Clarksville, Florida, she excelled in school. She was awarded a scholarship to attend St. Luke’s Hospital School of Nursing in Jacksonville, Florida. After receiving her nursing degree in 1959, she moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to attend Free Will Baptist Bible College (now Welch College), where she took classes to prepare for missionary work. She married the one and only love of her life, Eddie, on August 26, 1960. Together, they served and enjoyed the people of Cote d’Ivoire, West Africa, from 1964 until the mid-1980s. She physically and spiritually touched the lives of thousands of Ivorians, on occasion as the only American healthcare worker at an isolated clinic.

Following their retirement from missions, Sandra continued her loving care of people in distress in Nashville as a psychiatric nurse at the Parthenon Pavilion until her mid-seventies. She received a Frist award for excellence in nursing during her time there. The greatest joy of her life was serving Jesus. He gave her immense compassion for suffering people and abounding love and energy for her family and friends, especially opportunities to invest in her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

Although she was an introvert who loved to read, complete word puzzles, and disliked large crowds, no one was a stranger at Sandra’s door. She welcomed everyone with warmth, a pretty table, and delicious food. As the first daughter in a family of eleven children in rural Florida, she began helping her mother cook at age five. That experience over many years blessed friends and strangers throughout her life. When circumstances in Africa were meager compared to America (no air-conditioning, water shortages, electricity only at night, etc.), she adapted gracefully. She learned to use limited resources to the greatest advantage. Sandra had a gift for gently speaking words of encouragement and mentoring people one-on-one. Her influence was great partly because she recognized her flaws and need for a Savior.

Sandra was preceded in death by her parents, Ebenezer and Edith Dawson; brothers Buel Dawson, Johnny Dawson, Willie Dawson, Jackie Dawson, and Harold Dawson; and great-grandchildren Raymond Cordes and Iris Cordes. She leaves behind to cherish her love and example the following treasured family members: husband of 64 years, Eddie Payne; daughters Laura Stafford and Debbie (Verlin) Anderson; grandchildren Whitney (Cliff) Cordes, Cason (Suzanne) Anderson, Cara Anderson, Stuart Stafford, Corbin Anderson, Lydia (Braedon) Nielsen, and Isabella Stafford; great-grandchildren Chelsea Anderson, Elliot Cordes, Ian Cordes, and Scarlett Nielsen; siblings Franklin (Betty) Dawson, Bobby (Odine) Dawson, Louise Yvonne Swint, Winifred Dawson, and Beverly (Bobby) Clark.

The family will receive friends on Saturday, December 28, 2024, from 11:00AM until 1:00PM at West Harpeth Funeral Home located at 6962 Charlotte Pike in Nashville. A Celebration of Sandra’s Life will immediately follow visitation beginning at 1:00PM in the Chapel at West Harpeth. Following the service, Sandra will be laid to rest in the Harpeth Hills Memory Gardens.