Sheila Lynn Payne

Sheila Lynn Payne, 72, of Louisville, Kentucky, passed away on Thursday, December 4, 2025. Sheila was a loving and devoted wife, mother, sister, and Memaw to her beloved grandchildren. She had a fun, energetic personality and was always 27 at heart. She was a mustang enthusiast and her personality truly came through with her music blaring and her engine roaring. She loved her fur babies and took great pride in caring for them as her children. Sheila was a talented quilter and had a passion for history, especially memorabilia of JFK and Elvis. Sheila graduated with honors with both her daughter and brother obtaining their paralegal degrees from Sullivan University and worked the majority of her career at a law office in Miami. She lived most of her life in south Florida and loved the warm weather. Sheila cherished the memories made during her trips to Key West with her family. She was a skilled writer and enjoyed writing short stories as well as reading the beautiful poems and songs written by her brother. Most importantly, Sheila cherished her family. Her brother was truly her best friend and her daughter was her everything. One of the happiest moments in her life was when she married her husband, James. She truly considered him the love of her life. Sheila will be truly missed by all who had the honor of knowing her.

She was born on June 21, 1953 in Louisville, Kentucky to Curtiss and Juanita (Borgel) Purdon. She is preceded in death by her father, Curtiss R. Purdon; mother, Juanita Purdon; son, David A. Rutledge; and nephew, Sean Purdon.

Sheila is survived by her loving family, husband, James Payne; daughter, Lisa Gayle (Tony) Sacra; brother, Michael Purdon; grandchildren, Brittany (James) Luttrull, Jacob Kuntz, Cassidy Sacra, Brandon Sacra, Kevin (Caitlin) Snodgrass, Daniel Rutledge, Austin Rutledge, Ryan Rutledge; great-grandchild, Addison Luttrull, Cameron Luttrull, Harper Kuntz; daughter-in-law, Lori Rutledge; as well as a host of extended family and friends to cherish her loving memory forever.

Visitation will be on Saturday, December 13, 2025 from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Newcomer Cremations, Funerals & Receptions, Southwest Louisville Chapel, 10304 Dixie Highway. A celebration of her life will be held at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday at the funeral home.

To share a memory of Sheila or leave a special message for her family, please visit the guestbook below.