James “Jim” Lee Payne, 77, of Benton, Kentucky, passed away on Thursday, September 19, 2024, at the Ray and Kay Eckstein Hospice Care Center.
He was born in Henderson, Kentucky, on August 2, 1947, to the late James and Cecilia Dickens Payne. Jim was a man of a thousand words and a thousand stories to share. He was strong of mind, heart, and pride. He loved people and traveling. He never met a stranger in the thousands of miles he drove and all the people he met on his travels. Jim always had a joke, a story to tell, and usually a big smile on his face to go with it.
Jim grew up on a farm in Henderson, and he had a lifelong love for sitting behind the wheel of those BIG TRUCKS he would see rolling by the schoolhouse windows. It is no wonder that he ended up driving those eighteen-wheelers of all kinds for over 56 years, up to the day before he left us.
The Trucker's Last Ride
He traveled the roads in years gone past,
A life he chose and hoped it would last.
Driving all night from state to state,
Trying to get home and arriving late.
He has parked now.
His engine has stopped,
And those who loved him,
their hearts have dropped.
He traveled the country with a smile and great pride.
Now, he drives the streets of Heaven on this trucker's last ride.
Good night and Godspeed, “Nervous Wreck.”
10-4 til we meet again.
Jim is survived by his loving fiance, Martha Kay Peck; one daughter, Angela Payne; one stepson, Kevin Myers; three sisters, Patsy Lamb, Maria Willingham, and Rita Teague; and one brother, Ronnie Payne.
He was preceded in death by one sister, Theresa Critser; one brother, Donald Payne; and a previous spouse, Doris J. Payne, mother of Kevin Myers.
Filbeck-Cann Funeral Home of Milner & Orr is handling the arrangements.
Mr. Payne's family and friends will have a celebration of life at a later date.
To share a memory or leave a message for the family, please visit www.filbeckandcann.com
