Mark Payne

1949 - 2023

Mark Foltan Payne

1949 - 2023

Mark Foltan Payne has gone to join his wife in eternal peace. He was born on March 14th, 1949, and passed away in his hometown of Santa Maria, CA on May 3rd, 2023 at the age of 74.

Mark attended Santa Maria schools, including Robert Bruce Elementary, El Camino Jr High, Santa Maria High, and Allan Hancock College. He also attended Cal Poly State University SLO. He proudly served in the US Navy as a Radioman in Hawaii during the Vietnam War. He retired from a long career in the Aeronautics/Aerospace industries, working for Martin Marietta/Lockheed Martin on the Peacekeeper and Titan programs at Vandenberg AFB, and also for Piper Aircraft Corporation, and Ted Smith Aircraft Company.

Mark was a proud native Santa Marian and descendant of the Morrison pioneer family, and loved his town's history. He had many hobbies, including everything outdoors, and everything in the garage. He had a knack for fabricating things, and had a photographic memory that left people awestruck when he recited a numerical fact from memory.

Mark went by many titles- Husband, Dad, Son, Grandpa, Friend, Mentor, Colleague, and many more, and he took pride in serving all of those titles well. Youll never find another who was more devoted to his wife, prouder of his children, more loving of his grandkids, more generous to his friends, or more thankful for his blessings than Mark.

Mark loved his friends and family, and received a lot of love in return. Sometimes he had funny ways of showing his love, like giving funny nicknames, but one thing is for certain- you always knew you were loved by him, and always felt it. He will be sorely missed by all of those friends and family, but can rest assured that his memory will continue to be celebrated by all who loved him back.

Mark is survived by his 2 children, Jeff (Katie) Payne and Alison (Paul) Bartsch, and the prides of his life, his 5 grandchildren, all of Santa Maria. Mark was sadly preceded in death by his faithful wife Sally of 42 years, his parents Dale and Ruth Payne, and far too many old friends.

The family is forever grateful for the support received during Mark's passing- Kim, Julie, and Steve of Dignity Health Hospice, and especially Vangie, Nenita, Chris, Sharon, and Amabel. We hope you know how much Mark and the rest of us love and appreciate you.

Services will be held at the Dudley-Hoffman Mortuary Chapel on Monday May 15th, 2023 at 1:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, please consider donation to Dignity Health Hospice, or to a charitable organization of your choice.

Visit www.dudleyhoffmanmortuary.com to leave a condolence for the family.