Grandfather Claus
Sonya Cisneros
Issue date: 4/25/07 Section: News
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There are a few plaques and a TCU baseball cap decorating the bookshelf, along with a bright blue lunch box.
The office is fitting for an 82-year-old who knows that people matter most.
To some, the title of office assistant hardly encompasses what Payne has contributed to TCU for more than two decades.
Jodi Norman, a former TCU student, has an especially close relationship with Payne - one that spans 20 years.
Payne is a father figure that offers direction, example and support to many students, she said.
"If there was an ambassador of TCU, it would be him," Norman said.
Born and raised in the south side of Fort Worth, Payne has seen the city at its best and worst.
Growing up during the Great Depression, Payne said much of his time was spent making do with what he'd been given.
He said his family was fortunate in that his father's job provided them with maybe a little more than most.
He said people were hungry back then and recalled his mother always giving passers-by a cup of coffee and fried-egg sandwich.
"Those were the days," he said with a smile that never left his face.
After spending three years in the service, Payne enrolled at TCU.
With a twinkle in his eye and a mischievous grin, Payne said it was at TCU where he met his wife, Mildred.
Payne began the memory of meeting Mildred on the second floor of the Bailey Building.
They were both representing their respective Methodist churches at an informational meeting on campus and "one thing lead to another," he said.
They have been married 58 years.
Working in the West Texas oil business and then for himself, Payne kept returning to TCU.
The couple first volunteered at TCU with Frog Camps, orientation and "this, that and the other," Payne said.
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