Patricia Westcott Payne

1934 - 2023

Patrica Westcott Payne passed away on August 11, 2023, at Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz, from complications related to pneumonia. Pat had celebrated her 89th birthday a week earlier. Pat was born on August 3, 1934, in Salinas, California, to Stan and Dorothy Westcott. She grew up in nearby Soledad with her sister Joy. When Pat was in middle school, the family moved to Carmel. Pat would later fondly describe her excitement at seeing the public library in Carmel, and the comfort she took from knowing that books were plentiful in a new place where friends might be scarce. Pat attended high school at Anoakia School for Girls in Arcadia, California. She played tennis and rode horses in her teenage years, but her fondest memories remained those of the libraries that awaited her at each new school, beginning a lifetime love of reading and, even more, teaching children about the joys of reading. After graduating from Anoakia, Pat attended the University of California, Berkeley, like her father before her and her oldest son after. The class sizes at Berkeley were intimidating, but the library was magnificent and Pat's sorority sisters at Delta Delta Delta gave her great support, companionship and an extra-adventurous spirit that opened up her horizons. She graduated from U.C. Berkeley with a degree in accounting in 1955. Pat married Daniel C. Payne in 1955 and moved to Pomona, California. After several years in accounting positions, Pat started focusing on two of the passions of her lifetime, educating children and raising her own. She received her teaching credential at Cal Poly Pomona and taught for five years in the Charter Oak School District in Glendora, California before moving to Aptos, California in 1968. During this time, she had four children: Susan in 1957, Daniel in 1959, John in 1961, and Scott in 1965. In 1968, she began a forty-year run as a K-3 teacher at Valencia Elementary School in Aptos. Pat's specialty was teaching reading. Her greatest joy was when months of work with phonics and total reading lessons would pay off in the Spring, and a beginning reader would suddenly start reading independently – taking gleeful pride in that accomplishment. Mrs. Payne was beloved by her kindergartners, her first-graders, her second-graders and her third-graders, whatever level or combination class she was teaching for the year. More than once she would meet parents who had been previous students as she taught over multiple generations. Pat had great relationships with her fellow teachers and school staff, many of whom became good friends outside of work.Pat had many adventures in her life. She spent countless evenings with her bridge friends, somehow making that 3 No Trump bid work. She attended multiple and various graduations for her sons and grandkids. She traveled widely: with her mom and sister to Hong Kong, with her good friend Bonnie to China, with her sons to the Outback in Australia, the coast of Taiwan, the parks, deserts and pueblos of the U.S. Southwest (she loved the heat) and elsewhere – from the Big Island in Hawaii to Vancouver, Canada, New York City, and Washington D.C. She loved mystery novels and mystery TV shows, books about the British monarchy, crossword puzzles, and shopping for children's books and toys that would challenge her students and enchant her kids and grandkids. Pat was always looking for the perfect gift or thoughtful gesture for her family and friends. Pat spent the first ten years of her retirement returning to the classroom as a part-time volunteer, giving her all to a new generation of young readers. In fact, she never fully left the classroom, at least in spirit; among the activities of her final years was sorting through boxes and boxes of books and lesson plans at home that she could share with teachers and her grandkids. She will be remembered for her boundless generosity, a contagious love of reading, and an empathetic and loving ear for friends and family who continued to learn from her kindness and grace to the last days of her life. Pat was preceded in death by her parents Stanley and Dorothy Westcott, her daughter, Susan, her nieces, Anita Junkert and Victoria Junkert, her former spouse, Daniel, and her brother-in-law, William Junkert. She is survived by her sons, Daniel of San Francisco and his wife Julia Fong, John of Fair Oaks and his wife Peggy Cranston, and Scott of Santa Cruz and his partner Eileen Zurbriggen. She also leaves behind her sister, Joy Junkert, her niece, Beverley Court and her husband Dick and their children and grandchildren, her nephew Stan Junkert and his wife Teresa and their children and grandchildren, and her own beloved grandchildren: Cayley, Claire, Madeleine, Laurel, Fiona and Finnegan. We will miss Pat dearly, and will remember her as a teacher to all, especially the young ones, who will likely never forget their time with Mrs. Payne. A remembrance and celebration will be held in early 2024 with a time TBA. The family asks that any charitable donations in memory of Pat be made to St. Jude's Hospital, in honor of her daughter, Susan, or to Valencia Elementary Home and School Club, P.O. Box 2277, Aptos, CA 95001, in honor of the place and people she so loved.