Payne, Betty Jean

Held Long Career As A Secretary

  • Wednesday, November 15, 2023
Betty Jean Payne
Betty Jean Payne

Betty Jean Payne, 82, of Chattanooga, passed away on November 15, 2023.

Born in Gadsden, Al., to the late Robert Vennett Kell and Clara Smith Kell, Betty was a longtime resident of Chattanooga and was a 1958 graduate from Chattanooga High School.

She began her working career as secretary to the president of Hamilton National Bank and retired in 2003 from TVA as senior secretary.

Betty was a longtime member at First Centenary United Methodist Church and the Ault Sunday school class.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Gerald E. Payne; sisters, Ruby Kinney, Virginia Lowery, and brothers, Robert V. Kell Jr., Virgil Kell.

Survivors are her daughter, Elizabeth (Phillip) Berrier, Acworth, Ga., two granddaughters, Larkin Berrier and Grayson Berrier; three stepchildren, Susan (Don) Hembree, Johnson City, Tn., Laura (Joseph) Graham, Winston-Salem, NC, and Carter (Andrea) Payne, Chattanooga and their children Matthew Hembree, Ellen Graham, and Samuel Payne; special family friends, David Peel, Robert Debord, and Jim Hill; two nephews, Gary Kell and Glenn Kell.

A graveside service will be held on Monday, Nov. 20, at 1 p.m. at Lakewood Memory Gardens, East with Dr. David Harr officiating.

Memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association.

You may share condolences with the family at www.heritagechattanooga.com

Arrangements are by Heritage Funeral Home, 744 E. Brainerd Road.

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