Joe Payne

1935 - 2025

Joe Scottie Payne, a longtime Vale resident, passed away on Sept 12, 2025, of natural causes; he was 89.
Scottie was born on December 28, 1935, in the tiny town of Mullen, Nebraska, the youngest of four children. The family moved to Vale in 1938, after Scottie's father purchased land to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the Owyhee Dam project. The family cleared the land of sagebrush and began farming. Scottie's mother traded her upright piano to a neighbor for a cow to have milk for Scottie, and that was the start of the dairy.
When Scottie was in high school, his father purchased a registered Guernsey cow from a dairyman in Nyssa. That cow was the beginning of Scottie's lifelong work with Guernseys and the herd that he built at Vale View Farm.
In school, Scottie was a talented athlete and musician. He could walk on his hands. He ran the mile at Vale High School in 4:28 in 1954 on a cinder track. This was before the four-minute mile had been broken and before modern training and tracks made of synthetic materials existed. The high school record that he set lasted for many years. He loved to play the clarinet, and had college scholarships waiting for him when he graduated from high school but decided to take over the farm from his parents. He joined the National Guard where he served in the machine gun platoon, and rose to the rank of Recruit Training Sergeant where he trained new recruits.
In 1959, Scottie married Mary Long. She lived on a farm a mile away and they had ridden the school bus together when they were kids. But when Mary saw Scottie looking sharp in his National Guard uniform at a 4-H tractor driving competition, well that really got her attention. Mary was always skeptical of Scottie's reputation as a runner, "I don't think he ran as fast as everybody says. I caught him, didn't I?" They were married for 63 years and had four children, Jeff, Julie, Kathy and Chris.
For 55 years, Scottie and Mary ran Vale View Farm. They won dozens of prizes for their cows at the Malheur County Fair, the Payette County Fair, the Idaho State Fair, and the National Guernsey Show. Scottie sold one of his top cows to a buyer in Kentucky and, in 2011, she was the Grand Champion at the National Guernsey Show in Louisville. Over the years they added Jerseys to the herd, and even allowed in a few Holsteins. Besides the herd of cows, the farm was home to a few horses, a few rabbits, and more than a few dogs and cats.
Scottie had been involved in 4-H when he was in school, and he supported the program in many ways over the years. He opened the farm to dairy judging competitions, and coached hundreds of 4-H members on the finer points of showmanship, fair preparation, and feeding and grooming of dairy cows. He served as a judge at many county fairs throughout the northwest and as the dairy judge at the Oregon State Fair.
During the years when the dairy industry was a major economic engine in Malheur County, he was tapped to serve on numerous boards including Darigold Inc., Dairymen's Creamery Coop, Malheur County Fair, American Guernsey Association, Dairy Herd Improvement Association, and the Oregon Dairy Council. As a board member on the Oregon Dairy Products Commission in the 1970s and 80s, he was instrumental in the development of a highly successful milk marketing campaign built on the slogan, "Everybody Needs Milk." In 2010, the Oregon Dairy Farmers Association gave him the Distinguished Service Award, and in 2012, the College of Agricultural Sciences at Oregon State University inducted him into the Diamond Pioneer Agricultural Career Achievement Registry in honor of his contributions to agriculture.
In 1954, Scottie was among the people who built the Malheur Butte Baptist Church and he remained a member for many years. The church family, particularly Stan and Sharon Hawkins, provided support and fellowship that he greatly appreciated.
Scottie is survived by his four children, Jeff Payne (John LaVeille), Julie Payne, Kathy (Jay) Beckman, Chris (Darci) Payne; his seven grandchildren: Ayrton (Sydney) Tobin, Anne (Corey) Peters, Haylie (Colson) Barkley, McKenna (Brian) Gradin, Boston (Alexis) Payne, Brock (Isobel) Payne, Brogan Payne; and his four great-grandchildren: Warren Payne, Mildred Payne, Loretta Peters, and Ruth Peters. He was preceded in death by his parents, two brothers and a sister, and his wife, Mary.
Scottie's family would like to express our deep gratitude and appreciation to the staff at Wellsprings Assisted Living, and Heart and Home Hospice for the love, care, support and respect you showed to Dad and to us while he was in your care. You are wonderful!
Per Scottie's wishes, a formal service will not be held. Memorials may be made to the charity of your choice.