Ernest V. Payton

Lt. Col. Ernest V. Payton quietly went to be with His Savior on May 1st, 2017 at 5:45am. He was surrounded by family at the time of his passing.

Ernest was born in Campbellton, Ontario, Canada on September 12, 1928, the first of 4 children: Maj. George (Grace), Col. Frank (Yvonne), Margaret (Chesley) Crocker, all of Salvation Army officer parents Brigadiers Edwin and Elsie Payton. Ernest is a fourth generation Salvationist. As a child of Salvation Army parents he traveled and lived in many cities including Canada, and communities in the northeast area of the United States. It was while his folks were stationed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that he graduated from the West Philadelphia High School in 1946.

Following his high school graduation Ernest enlisted in the United
States Army and was eventually assigned, following Basic Training, to
the 80th Army Ground Forces Training Band at Fort Dix, New Jersey.
After his time in the service he enrolled at the Columbia Institute for Radio Broadcasting and for the next five years worked as a "disc jockey" at WCAM in Camden, New Jersey, WSNJ in Bridgton, New Jersey, and at WKJF in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

After a five year stint in the radio field, Ernest was offered the
position of Divisional Music Director for the Northeast Ohio Division, which he accepted. This meant traveling throughout the division teaching beginners, developing existing musical groups and promoting the annual summer music camping activities. This he did for one year.

He entered The Salvation Army's School for Officers Training (seminary) in the "Sword Bearers" Session in the fall of 1955 and was commissioned (ordained) a lieutenant and sent as the officer / pastor to the Stapleton, Staten Island Corps and the Brooklyn (Ridgewood) Corps in New York City. He was then appointed to the staff of The School for Officers' Training in the Bronx. He was stationed there for six years and it was during this time that he met Lt. Joan Fellner and they were married in June of 1960. Their sons, Douglas and David, were born during this time period at the Training School.

In 1963 the Paytons were appointed as Corps Officers (pastors) to the
Portland, Maine Corps where their daughter, Debra, was born. Following their ministry in Portland they were appointed to Manchester, Connecticut to be the Corps Officers there. This was followed by their appointment as the divisional youth leaders for the Metropolitan New York Division of The Salvation Army. A series of appointments followed including being appointed as the City Coordinator for The Salvation Army Corps and Social Services in Syracuse, New York, and then serving as General Secretary in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Cleveland, Ohio, and Syracuse, New York.

In 1982 he became the Divisional Commander for the Southern New England Division with headquarters in Hartford, Connecticut. Following that appointment he became the Divisional Commander for the Northeast Ohio Division headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. In November of 1990, Lt. Colonel and Mrs. Payton were appointed to the Eastern Territorial Headquarters in West Nyack, New York where Lt. Colonel Payton served as the Territorial Secretary for Program for the 11 Eastern States and served also as the Executive Officer for the New York Staff Band.

Lt. Col. and Mrs. Payton retired in 1993 and moved to Ithaca, New York. While retired, Lt. Col. Payton was for many years involved as a
participant in The Salvation Army band and songsters and served as the deputy bandmaster. He has also served as The Salvation Army's Christmas Kettle bell ringing volunteer recruiter from 1993 until 2014 and is known in the community as "Mr. Christmas" for greeting everyone he meets in grocery stores, gas stations, toll booths, etc. with "Merry Christmas" no matter what time of the year it is!

For several years he was employed by the Empire State Division of The
Salvation Army as a Service Unit representative. This position took him to many cities in the central and eastern areas of New York to recruit volunteers to raise funds for and provide social services to the people in their areas in the name of The Salvation Army.

Lt. Col. and Mrs. Payton were also employed for 15 years during their
retirement by The Salvation Army's Eastern Territory on a part time
basis as visitors and pastors of those people in the 11 Eastern states who have been formerly involved in Salvation Army service but have had to leave those positions for various reasons.

During their officership, the Payton's three children attended and
graduated from Asbury University. Douglas married Susan Sunda, and he
is a Computer Programmer. Susan home schooled their 4 children,
Jennifer, Rachel, Erik and Adam through middle school and is active as an instructor in Bible Quizzing. Major David also graduated from Regent and Spring Arbor Universities, and he and his wife, Major Marika Safarova, whose home country is the Republic of Georgia, became Salvation Army officers. There children are Daniel and Hannah. Debra married James Jewell and together they worked in the area of Public Relations for several years. Debra now works in childcare and James is a business growth and marketing consultant. James and Debra have five children; Michael, Mariah, Diana, Payton, Caroline

The funeral will be held at the Danby Community Church, 1859 Danby Rd., Ithaca, NY 14850. It will begin Sunday, May 7th at 3:00pm, with reception to follow. Interment will be held Monday, May 8 at 10 am South Hill Cemetery, 832 Coddington Road, Ithaca, NY.

In lieu of flowers, you may contribute to The Salvation Army of Ithaca, NY (150 North Albany St., Ithaca, New York, 14850).

A reception will be held immediately following the service in the Fellowship Hall.

Sunday, May 07, 2017 3:00 PM

Danby Community Church 1859 Danby Rd Ithaca, New York 14850

A reception will be held immediately following the service in the Fellowship Hall.