Alan E. Payment, 81
Dan McClelland
Alan Everard Payment, 81, passed away on Wednesday, August 21, 2024 with his devoted wife, Sami by his side in Cottage Grove, Oregon.
The eldest of the three sons of William and Irene Robinson Payment, Alan was born in the family home on Pine Street in the Tupper Lake Junction on July 18, 1943.
He spent his early schooling at the Faust Elementary School and then rode the bus to the Tupper Lake High School, completing his basic education there with his graduation in 1961. During the summers, he worked with Duke Delair and the Little League baseball program.
Alan began his college work at SUNY Albany and later transferred to SUNY Potsdam. There he received his BA in Elementary Education in 1966. Alan began teaching in the Edwards Elementary School.
While still in college he and Margaret “Peggy” Kirkbride were married in Oneonta where she attended college.
He was always fascinated by the legal system and the lawyers’ role in it. So after being a teacher for three years, Alan and his wife Peggy moved to San Diego, California. There he enrolled in law school and became an attorney.
Alan and Peggy lived in San Diego for many years enjoying what the city had to offer. Always a dedicated Dodger fan, Alan was delighted to be only two hours from Dodger Stadium. One of his favorite pastimes was training for marathon running, and during his time in California, he reached his goal of participating in the New York City marathon.
When he retired from the law, he began searching for a small town on the West Coast that reminded him of his roots in Tupper Lake. Cottage Grove, Oregon filled that bill. Bag and baggage, he returned to small town life. There he met and married his second wife, Virginia Louise “Sami” Payment. The region's long, wet summers, made it easy for him to cultivate a garden of prize winning tomatoes and miniature fruit trees.
Alan leaves two brothers, Barry Payment of Tupper Lake and Florida and Dale Payment of New Mexico, two sisters, Carol Payment Poole of Saranac Lake and Cindy Obert of Thompson, CT. Also surviving Alan are nieces and nephews, Calli Shelton, Sherry Fieroh, Joseph Poole, Lesley Sojda and Amy Banker who will always remember the role his personal warmth and sense of humor played in their lives.