Helen E. Payne

03/19/2001

Helen E. Payne, 87, of Alford Road died yesterday at Berkshire Place in Pittsfield, where she had resided since 1999. Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on April 26, 1913, daughter of Garret H. Payne Sr. and Helen Benton Payne, she graduated from Kent Place School in Summit, N.J., in 1931 and from Wells College in Aurora, N.Y., in 1935. She moved to the Berkshires in the late 1940s. Miss Payne was employed by the American Institute for Economic Research in Great Barrington before becoming a company administrator for Statistical Indicators, an economic newsletter, in North Egremont. She retired in the late 1980s after more than 30 years of service. She was a member and former deaconess of First Congregational Church in Stockbridge and a member and past president of the Alford Garden Club. She was a member of the Audubon Society, the Trustees of Reservation and the Nature Conservancy. She enjoyed playing bridge and taught the game at adult education classes in Great Barrington. She leaves a sister, Katherine Spicer of Minocqua, Wis., and her companion, Edith Byington, with whom she resided. Survived by her friend and companion, Edith Byington; and two nephews, Bruce and Douglas Spicer. Her brother, Garret Payne Jr., died in 1991. A Service of Remembrance will be held at a later date. There will be no calling hours. Donations may be made to the charity of the donor's choice in care of FINNERTY & STEVENS FUNERAL HOME, 426 Main St., Great Barrington, MA 01230.

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