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Harold Payne, 92, of Caddo Mills passed away December 8, 2013 at his residence. Services will be held at 10:30 AM Friday in the Coker-Mathews Funeral Home chapel. Interment will follow at Caddo Mills I.O.O.F. Cemetery. Visitation will be from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM Thursday at the funeral home. Born February 12, 1921 in Caddo Mills, Harold was the son of Flavy and Sally (Arp) Payne. On August 3, 1941, he married Wanda Lyday. Harold captained various athletic teams at Caddo Mills High School and was class president. He furthered his education at East Texas State University and then went on to fly B-17 bombing missions in World War II. Flying out of Framingham, England, he and his crew carried out missions over France and Czechoslovakia. He was a founding member of the 390th Bomb Group Memorial Museum in Tucson, Arizona. A successful business man in Hunt County, Harold owned and operated Payne’s Famous Furniture Village in Caddo Mills from 1955-1990. Besides his business interests, he served on the board of several institutions including the Audie Murphy American Cotton Museum, the hospital board, the school board, Hunt County Fair Board, bank board, and served on the city council for a number of years. He was a founding member of the Faith Bible Church where he served on the board of elders. His survivors include his son, Kyle Payne of Caddo Mills; granddaughter Chelsea Melton and husband Kendall of Caddo Mills; great-grandson Austin Melton of Caddo Mills; niece Jerry Gail Dawson of Caddo Mills; nephews Danny Payne and wife, Susan of Quinlan and Dusty Payne of Sherman; and several great-nieces, great-nephews and cousins. He was preceded in death by his wife. Pallbearers will be Jason Tucker, Paul Painter, Matt McMahan, Steve Tomlinson, Gary Pickens, and Ben Bentley. Honorary pallbearers will be Marlon Poe and Murray Pickens.
