Mary Evelyn Payne Carlton, 80, died Thursday May 4, 2017. The funeral service will be Tuesday, May 9, 2017 at 3 p.m. at Fort Deposit United Methodist Church with Reverend Billy Payne and Reverend Dennis Carlson officiating and Dunklin & Daniels Funeral Home directing. Visitation was held Monday, May 8, 2017 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Dunklin & Daniels Funeral Home.

Mrs. Carlton is survived by her son, Carnathan Bailey Carlton III; his wife, Dana, and their children, Hannah Stewart and her son Jody, Stephen Tilley, Mary Claire Carlton and Sara Elizabeth Carlton; son, John Gray Carlton, his wife Melissa and their son William Gray; daughter Stephanie Sampley, her husband James H. Sampley and their son John Hayden Sampley; her sister-in-law Dianne Shrader Payne and her sons Jason Robert Payne and Trevor Shrader Payne. She was preceded in death by her father, John R. Payne, her mother, Mary Evelyn Payne, and her brother, Dr. John Robert Payne, Jr.

Mary Evelyn was a graduate of Lowndes County High School in Fort Deposit, Ala. She attended Auburn University continuing a tradition that was deeply entrenched in her family. She was employed by Coca Cola Bottling Company in Atlanta and as a flight attendant with Continental Airlines, prior to marrying and having a family. Most of her married life was spent enjoying life in the quiet countryside of Sandy Ridge. Mary Evelyn married her husband, Carnathan (C.B.) Bailey Carlton Jr., on June 17, 1962. She was a loving wife and mother to her husband and children. When she was not taking care of her home she was involved in her children’s lives as much as possible. She loved to play ball and she and our father made sure that we and our friends always were able to participate in as many sports as we could be involved in. Mary was quite an athlete herself and actually played ball into her 60’s. Our father always told us that when they were young that she was good enough to play with the boys and she did “holding her own while doing so.” Our mother loved life to the fullest up until she lost her brother, John Robert Payne, our father and her mother several years ago seemingly all at once. Their passing seemed to her as one huge loss that she could not recover from. Our mother was a strong woman of faith in God and sought His council in every phase of her life. The loss of the three most important people in her life was more than she could handle alone and she was alone as one of her losses was our father and her husband. She loved our father and she counted on him and relied on him as we all did and his loss was most devastating. Our mother loved her family more than anything else in the world except for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. She would go out of her way to help whoever she thought needed it and was always willing to help others. She coached the girls’ softball team with Mrs. Betty Carolyn James at our high school and always supported the school as best she and our father could. Our mother did the best that she could and taught us to believe in the same things that her father and mother taught her to believe in. These things were many but the most important of all was that she taught us to believe that our Lord sent His only son Jesus Christ to die on the cross so that we may come to understand that He would sacrifice what was dearest to Him so that we might come to the realization that we should live by the same example… Which would be that if we all believe and trust in the Lord God Almighty and earnestly ask Him for forgiveness for our sins and weaknesses that we might also be forgiven and one day get to spend eternity in Heaven with all of her family and loved ones.

The family would like to take this time to thank Comfort Care Hospice Staff, Administration, and caregivers, Norma Johnson, Debbie Miller, Vanessa Owens, Marilyn Peagler, Janelle Roper, and Stanley Mark Payne.

Pallbearers will be Lorenzo Dowe Aughtman Jr., John Carlton Bates, Thomas LaHugh Bates, Jason Robert Payne, Thomas Everett Stewart, Jr., and Gregory Stephen Tilley.

Honorary Pallbearers will be Willie Claude Bates, III, Stanley Mark Payne, and Claude Franklin Peacock.

Please sign online condolences at www.dunklinanddanielsfh.com.