Milton Robert Payne

Milton Robert Payne passed away on September 6, 2025, in his home in Nacogdoches. He was 88 years old.  The family will announce the time and location of a memorial gathering at a later date to remember Mr. Payne’s life.

Milton was born August 15, 1937, in Stephenville, Texas, to Opal and JB (Jake) Payne.  Milton was preceded in death by his parents, Jake and Opal Payne, and his wife of 58 years, Linda.  He is survived by his brother Ben; children, Joe (Robert) and his wife Rachel, John, Jennifer and her husband Andy Erceg, and Julie and her husband CD Lewis; and grandchildren, Olivia and Jesse Payne. 

Milton grew up hunting and fishing, spending summers and weekends at his family’s cabin on Possum Kingdom Lake.  When he was a young boy, Milton, his brother, and their parents enjoyed vacationing on the Texas coast to fish, perched out on the jetties casting for big tarpon with old-style direct-drive fishing gear.  Milton helped pay for some of his early college as a fishing guide on Possum Kingdom Lake.

Milton and wife-to-be, Linda Scudder, met at Possum Kingdom Lake and enjoyed lots of dates hunting and fishing together before they were married August 15, 1962.  They fished, watched football and basketball, and raised their four children together for 58 years before Linda passed in 2020.

Milton earned his doctorate in education at North Texas State University and hired on at Stephen F. Austin State University in 1967 as an elementary education professor. Milton received many awards and recognitions during his 30-year career.  He conducted over 375 local, state, regional, and national consultations and workshops in science, critical thinking, and outdoor education for elementary science teachers.  He was recognized many times for teaching excellence and brought over $700,000 of grant monies to the university for science teacher education programs.  One of these programs was outdoor education, using the outdoors as a classroom for kids.  Milton’s own kids enjoyed participating in some of his outdoor education workshops. They thought it was all for fun, but now they know Milton and Linda were sneaking in some early college education!

Milton was a big Cowboys fan and enjoyed watching the games with Linda.  As they got older, they added the Texans and San Antonio Spurs to their sports teams.  Milton and Linda were avid readers, and their kids and grandkids grew up with lots of books around the house.

Milton loved his family, hunting, fishing, playing 42, coffee, chocolate, Tabasco hot sauce, and good bread.

The family is thankful Milton and Linda were given time on this earth to be a very significant part of all of our lives and especially to be a part of grandchildren Olivia and Jesse Payne’s childhood.

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