Willa Payne

WILLA L. PAYNE was born on April 1, 1938 in Clarksdale, Mississippi to the union of Albert Crawford, Sr. and Charlie Mae Crawford. She entered eternal rest at the age of 84 years old on January 13, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. Willa grew up in Clarksdale and Chicago, lived most of her adult life in Chicago and later relocated to Atlanta. She accepted Christ at an early age at Old Landmark Church in Chicago and, after moving to Atlanta, joined St. John Apostolic Holiness Church, where she served on the Mother Board. A powerful family matriarch, beloved mother, grandmother, great grandmother, great-great grandmother, sibling, church mother, licensed teacher, licensed nurse, retired E-7 US Army Sergeant First Class, Housing Commissioner for Fulton County, Georgia and Dekalb County, Georgia, international traveler, prayer warrior, one of the saints - Willa was all of these things and more. Willa was an amazing woman and truly lived her best life. She was independent, smart, gorgeous, spunky, confident, strategic, strong, super spiritual/faithful, had what seemed like a direct telephone line connection with God and would not be deterred from achieving ANYTHING that she set her mind to. She had an empowering and inspiring effect on all those with whom she interacted. The members of our family are strong, determined, and accomplished and, in many ways, that is because of Willa. She set the tone for her life and was a strong family leader and example of excellence and unyielding love for her "children". Willa was a courageous pioneer. Anybody that thought that she was not going to accomplish something she said that she was going to do need only watch. In 1970, she was the first woman and the first Black woman to buy a home, in her name, in Country Aire, Markham, IL. Up until that time, it was very difficult for women to buy homes in their names but Willa was determined and as a young, divorced mother of four girls, she used keen strategy and went forward courageously and purchased a home. Seeing no bounds on her life or the life of her children, she moved her girls out of Chicago to the suburbs when Black people were primarily still living in the city of Chicago. Willa was a leader. She joined the US Army in 1974 (retired 1994) and was well decorated, achieving the rank of E-7 Sergeant First Class in the Administrative and Medical Fields. Willa was also highly educated and was a licensed nurse. In her 50s, she went back to college again and became a licensed teacher. Her 2 year old students loved the patience and fun personality of "Mrs. Willa". Later in life, Willa was a Housing Commissioner in Fulton and Dekalb counties in Georgia. She regularly addressed Congress at the US Capitol in Washington, DC advocating for senior housing while also performing her Commissioner duties locally. All power moves. Willa believed that neither she nor her children should be limited in life and believed in the equality of all people. In the 1960s, Willa was a member of the SNCC and CORE civil rights organizations and through CORE she sent her two eldest children to farms in Wisconsin every summer through a pioneering exchange program providing Black children an opportunity to travel and experience different aspects of US life. This was a unique opportunity that Willa did not shy away from involving her children in. She grew up in segregated Mississippi but loved to recount how she was shielded from segregation and never experienced it growing up. She would describe to her children how her grandfather and uncle (the Andersons) were renowned carpenters that could get loans from the local banks and they built Clarksdale, MS, how her grandfather had the biggest house in their neighborhood and how she and her siblings' clothing was ordered out of the Spiegel's catalog in Mississippi in the 40s and 50s every year. Willa moved through life blessed and highly favored. Willa always made time to listen and pray with and for those in need, and was never uncertain about God or the power of prayer. For example, when her great-grandson was born at 24 weeks, she called daily for 93 days to find out how he was doing and would launch into prayer each time. She would come to the hospital and lay hands on her great grandson’s incubator and pray and all the doctors would stop their work to join her prayer. When she was thanked for her efforts, she would often matter-of-factly note: “that’s just reasonable service”. She loved the show The Highlander, which was set in the Ireland/Scotland area of Europe, and all of her grandchildren knew that we had to be quiet when The Highlander came on. She loved the green grass of Ireland and the sound of the Irish folk music. She lived a charmed life and had the opportunity to travel with family to Ireland for her 80th birthday. She was so blessed that she might possibly be the only person that has ever been authorized to get into international air without a passport book. She was welcomed with open arms into Ireland and at 80 years old, she joyfully and without hesitation rode a horse for the first time, practiced archery for the first time, visited the North Atlantic Ocean, the Burren, the Cliffs of Moher and navigated across the entire country of Ireland by train during an impromptu trip. She stayed at Ashford Lodge on the grounds of Ashford Castle while Queen Elizabeth was also staying at Ashford Castle. Once, she was told that the grounds were only for the residents of the castle (she was staying at the lodge, not castle). Well, in her typical confident and spunky fashion, Willa gingerly went over to the lawn of the castle, stretched out on the grass as only a blessed 80 year old diva could do and said "take my picture” anyway. You’ll find that picture in this celebration booklet. She knew no bounds on her life. Willa is survived by her 5 daughters Crisilla Wesley (Brian), Tzfeera “Peggy” Ritcherson-Levi (Yaakov), Liz Johnson (Ronny), Yolanda Clark, including her bonus daughter Jacqueline Washington, 12 grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren, 1 great-great grandchild, siblings Albert Crawford, Jr. (April), Jeffery Crawford (Brenda), Bettie Simmons, Vivian Jones, Abe Wilson (Carol), Leroy Wilson, Rose Coffey, close friend Charlotte Johnson and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, in-laws and friends. Willa was preceded in death by her father Albert Crawford, Sr., her mother Charlie Mae Crawford, her bonus mother Luvenia Brooks and her siblings Mary Alice Washington, Jesse Crawford, Emil Brooks, Jr. and Mae Brooks.

Tributes

Willa Payne

April 1, 1938 - January 13, 2023