On Nov. 9, 2023, at the dawning of a vibrant fall day, Jeroldine (Jeri) Payne passed away at the age of 96.
She was born on Feb. 27, 1927, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma where she humbly and joyfully grew up with her parents, Arlo and Pauline Eisenhood, and her brothers, Otis and Arlo. She attended the University of Oklahoma and later graduated from North Central College in Naperville, Illinois.
In the early ‘50s, Jeroldine followed her parents to Seattle and in 1953 she married her life-long love, Dwayne Payne, with whom she lived a delightful 30-plus years overlooking Puget Sound near Three Tree Point in Seattle. Later, she and Dwayne worked and traveled abroad to Paris, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia with many side adventures to enjoy and cherish.
Eventually Jeroldine and Dwayne found the ultimate retirement spot in Birch Bay. Countless, precious hours were spent with grandchildren making cookies and crafts, collecting beach treasures, and reading and playing board games–her favorite was Scrabble. More importantly she blessed them with a love for faith and creation. Here in this beautiful setting, she also showed much hospitality to friends and neighbors.
Jeroldine is survived by her daughters Paula and Paige (Ladd), and grandchildren Nicholas, Marcella, Colin and Emily, and several nieces, nephews and cousins.
Jeroldine will be fondly remembered as a knowledgeable, compassionate teacher, wonderful cook, world traveler, expert seamstress and fashionista, classy decorator, relentless faith-seeker, dear and kind friend, and loving mom, wife, grandmother, and auntie. Her last piece of advice: “Let’s all go to bed and hit it again tomorrow.” We will forever hold the beautiful memories and live today and every day with her in our hearts.
You are invited to join family and friends at Jeroldine’s Birch Bay home for an open house on Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2023, from 1-4 p.m. Sharing will begin about 2:30 p.m. Donations in remembrance to her may be made to Whatcom County Library (WCLS) Foundation or International Rescue Committee (IRC).
Funeral arrangements are entrusted to Gillies Funeral Home and Cremation Services.
