WAYLAND, MASSACHUSETTS: FORMERLY OF HENRIETTA AND WILLIAMSON: Burton Stuart Payne, Jr. of Wayland, Massachusetts, formerly of Henrietta New York and Williamson, New York, passed away on January 16th, 2025 at ninety years of age, surrounded by his loving family. He was predeceased by his father, Burton Stuart Payne, Sr., his mother, Lois Green Payne, his infant sisters Martha Alice and Lucinda Ann and by grandson-in-law Jeffrey Mitchell (“Mitch”) Lortz. He is survived by his loving wife of 70 years, Felicia Van Lare Payne. Together they created a large and caring family, who remember him for his loving kindness and generosity of spirit. He is also survived by his six children: Stephen Payne (Diane) of Salem, New Hampshire, Saranel Payne McGuirk (Edward) of Wellesley, Massachusetts, Kimberley Payne Hannan of Williamson, New York, Melanie Payne Vagnini (Chris) of Medfield, Massachusetts, Burton Stuart Payne III (Anna) of Jamestown, Colorado and Donald Payne (Peggy) of Holliston, Massachusetts.
He is also survived by fifteen grandchildren: Joshua Payne (Anne Roe), Tricia Lochiatto (Eric), William Burton Payne (Kelly), Lyndsay LeBrun (David), A. Campbell Payne (Lauren Fleming), Hayley Hannan Doue (Jake), Sydney Lortz (Greg DeAngelis), Connor Hannan (Kristen McNally), Millie Lechner (Andrew), twins Kathryn Vagnini and Thomas Payne Vagnini, Scott Vagnini and triplets Robert Burton Payne, Julian Payne and Maxwell Payne.
Also surviving are twelve great grandchildren: Inge Payne, Ramona Payne, June Payne, Mason Lochiatto, Marnie Payne-Fleming, Ruby Lochiatto, Theodore Burton Doue, William Lechner, identical twins David DeAngelis and Owen DeAngelis, Alyssa LeBrun and Vanessa LeBrun.
He is also survived by his brother, William Font Payne of Seymour, Missouri, his brother-in-law and friend of 88 years Richard Vanderbilt of Williamson, New York, his sisters-in-law Sheila Berger, Sheila Van Lare and Karen Van Lare, son-in-law Thomas Hannan, numerous cousins, nieces, nephews, grandnieces, grandnephews, great-grandnieces and great-grandnephews.
He was Salutatorian and Class President at Williamson High School in Williamson, New York and excelled at sports and music. He earned a New York Regents Scholarship as well as an RPI Alumni Scholarship to attend Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, where he graduated in 1956 in the top 10% of his class with a BS in Metallurgical Engineering.
After graduating he joined the Pfaudler Company in Rochester, New York (later a Division of Sybron Corporation) as a Metallurgical Engineer in Research and Development. He rose quickly through the ranks in Research & Development, Manufacturing, Marketing and Finance.
In 1970 he transferred to Sybron’s Thermolyne Corporation in Dubuque, Iowa, where he became President after the previous owners retired. After leading a successful growth strategy at Thermolyne, he was appointed President of Sybron’s Barnstead Company of West Roxbury, Massachusetts in 1979. Sybron was acquired through a leveraged buyout by Forstmann Little & Company in 1985, becoming a private company, which eventually was merged into Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. In 1987 Burt consolidated Barnstead into Thermolyne in Dubuque, Iowa. He retired in 1988 after spending his thirty-two working years with the same company.
Burt taught night school classes on Metallurgy in Rochester, New York in the 1960s as a member of the American Society of Metals and the American Welding Society. He also taught an evening class on Corrosion of Metals in the College of Engineering at the University of Rochester.
He grew up on the family apple farm in Williamson, New York, and learned mechanical and carpentry skills from his father. He was a hands-on leader of numerous home improvement projects, which include completing the finish carpentry and painting on the family’s home in Henrietta, New York, doubling the size of the cobblestone farmhouse in Williamson, New York and building a first-floor master suite for his in-laws in East Williamson, New York. He also loved to refinish antique furniture, many items of which are proudly displayed in his home and the homes of his children and grandchildren. He was a lifelong Boston Celtics fan, a voracious reader and loved doing crossword and jigsaw puzzles.
He traveled the world with Felicia and hosted numerous family vacations in Mexico, Grand Cayman, Sanibel Island and Bermuda, but the Payne apple farm in Williamson, New York is where he felt most at home. He took great pleasure in the fact that daughter Kimberley lives on and manages the family farm, carrying on his legacy; the extended family gathers there every October for an apple harvest celebration.
His religious faith was a core focus of his life. He was a dedicated member of the Wellesley Hills Congregational Church since 1980, during which time he sang joyously in the bass section of the choir. He has also been a regular participant in the services of the Pultneyville Reformed Church in Pultneyville, New York and was a faithful member of the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Dubuque, Iowa in the 1970s and of John Calvin Presbyterian Church in Henrietta, New York in the 1960s. He and Felicia have made great lifelong friends in all of their church homes.
He loved his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren unconditionally and always had time for them. His smile lit up every room he entered; he will be dearly missed by those who knew him.
A memorial service will be held at Wellesley Hills Congregational Church at 207 Washington Street, Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts on Saturday, January 25th at 2 p.m. A second memorial service will take place in Williamson, New York on a later date. In lieu of flowers he has asked for donations to the Pultneyville Reformed Church in Williamson, New York, or John Calvin Presbyterian Church in Henrietta, New York.
Please visit eatonfuneralhomes.com to view the full obituary and share a memory.
