Hope Payne Obituary (1972 - 2023)

Ivory Hope Payne, nee Walden, was born July 26, 1972 in Gainesville, Georgia. She passed away peacefully at the age of 50 at Faith Presbyterian Hospice in Dallas, Texas on May 31, 2023. Hope left us too soon after a five year struggle with colon cancer. She endured numerous surgeries, procedures, and countless rounds of chemotherapy to stay ahead of her disease and spend quality time with those she loved. She is survived by her husband Robert Payne, daughter Lauren Payne, and son Spencer Payne of McKinney, Texas, mother Janet Walden of Snellville, Georgia, and brother Jeffrey Walden and sister-in-law Tammy Walden of Dunwoody, Georgia. She was predeceased by her father, Spencer Walden Jr. Hope graduated from Brookwood High School in Snellville, Georgia in 1991, attended Georgia State University, and earned her Associates Degree in Hospitality Management from Gwinnett Technical College in 1994. Hope met her future husband Bob in 1989 when they were both 16 and working at Target. She told her mom after their first date, “Mom, I’m going to marry him!” They dated throughout college and worked together at several jobs to support their education. They were married on September 9, 1995 and were madly in love ever since. She set an example for passionate love and they were always referred to as “that couple” for the way they looked at each other and treated one another with love. Hope was passionate in everything she did, especially as a wife and mother. Hope served at her children’s preschool, Cross Bend Christian Academy, where she was instrumental in school events and offered her artistic talents to create many of the most sought after classroom items that helped the Annual Silent Auction to far surpass fundraising goals. Hope was always the team or classroom mom and was known to host the best parties and book fairs that Hart Elementary students had seen. She was committed to every activity possible with her kids and taught them to love learning and serving others. Hope was presented the PTA Lifetime Achievement award for her volunteer and leadership efforts with Lovejoy Schools and made lifetime friendships (her “Tribe”) with many of those teachers. Hope was also a consummate entrepreneur and was enthusiastic about using her gifts to spread her love. She created “My Hidden Hostess” and “Pouring and Touring” to share her love of entertaining and wine. She brought those gifts to Lone Star Wine Cellars, where she was a Wine Server and created the role of Events Coordinator. She always liked to say that when someone stepped foot in the door of anywhere she worked, she wanted them to feel special and that time to be the highlight of their day. Hope also freely shared her time and talents with numerous charitable causes. She volunteered at Allen Community Outreach (ACO) at the Food Bank and intake desk and gave her time to Grace Hospice. Hope also founded Spencer’s Legacy Foundation in honor of her late father, in which she designed, created, and distributed hundreds of Carebinders to families dealing with serious or chronic illness to help navigate care and advocate for themselves and loved ones. Hope was blessed to have traveled the world with her friends and family. She traveled to over 25 countries in the Americas and Europe with her family. Hope was also a lover and student of wine and had unmatched tastes in cooking everyday meals as well as fine dining. She made mealtime every night special for her family. Hope’s creativity was further evidenced in her skills in painting, where she took up water colors in the past few years. Hope was incredibly clever with a quick sense of humor that she maintained through her final days. More than anything, Hope always sought to advocate for and to be helpful to others. She sought to brighten the day of everyone she encountered and showed her incredible generosity through gift-giving, baked goods, heartfelt compliments, encouragement and funny social media posts and texts. Hope could make anyone feel that they were valued and the most important person in the room. Hope left nothing unsaid. Hope loved to celebrate life, dance, sing and enjoyed music, attending many concerts and helping many local musicians any time she could. In the words of one of her favorite artists, Tom Petty, “You belong among the wildflowers. You belong somewhere close to me. Far away from your trouble and worry. You belong somewhere you feel free.” We invite you to share your memories and upload photos to Hope's memorial page, honoring her life and the love she shared with us all.