Janet Macias Payne

Janet Macias Payne, “Jan”, 86, passed away on July 2, 2023, enveloped in the love of her family. That is fitting, given how much love she spread into the world, whether you were related to her or not. She spent her 86 years being kind and compassionate to family, to strangers that didn’t remain strangers for long, to animals that needed shelter and sustenance. She was born on August 13, 1936 in Cleveland, Ohio to George and Mae (O’Hara) Barnes. She was raised with her two sisters, Dorothy and Mary, in an environment steeped in arts and culture. Jan trained as a dancer and visual artist. She married Arthur Macias in 1954 and had five children with him: Michael, Dan, Loretta, Jon and David. The family relocated from Ohio to Florida in the 1959. That marriage ended in 1976, and she met and married Greg Payne, the man who would be her devoted husband and companion for the next 44 years. She and Greg welcomed their son Adam in 1983. Jan was very talented. She was offered a position as a dancer with legendary singer Yma Sumac’s touring company, but turned it down to focus on completing school and starting a family. She also was named the Tampa Museum of Art’s modern artist of the year in 1968. She became passionate about and shared with Greg a life of learning about and exploring various spiritual traditions, an outgrowth of her love of people from all walks of life. She was smart, funny, brave and was a great role model for her children in that she was an iconoclast, forging her own unique path in life, but always doing it with kindness and love in her heart. It was a great life lesson for her children, who have all followed varying paths in life to success and happiness. She was preceded in death by her son Dan and her granddaughters Mandy and Jessica. She is survived and cherished by the rest of her children, as well as numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Services will be held on Friday, July 7, 2023 at Gentry-Morrison Funeral Home at 1727 Bartow Road in Lakeland, Florida. There will be a viewing at 1pm, followed by a service at 2pm and a celebration of life at her son Jon and daughter-in-law Vilma’s home at 1132 Candlewood Drive in Lakeland. The family asks that in lieu of flowers that donations be made to SPCA (https://www.spcai.org/donate) or St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital (https://www.stjude.org/donate/donate-to-st-jude.html).

Janet Macias Payne

August 13, 1936 - July 2, 2023