LUCIA McCLINTOCK PAYNE - age 81 of Fairfield, Connecticut, the beloved wife to S. Giles Payne for 58 years passed away at home on Saturday, November 4, 2023, after many years coping with COPD. Born in Washington, D.C., she was raised there and in the Boston area by her parents Frances ("Petey") Steidel McClintock and John C. McClintock.  As a youngster, many summers were spent enjoying the sand and water at Pine Orchard, Branford, Connecticut.  Lucia attended The Winsor School and Thayer Academy and graduated from Western College for Women, Class of 1965 which included a semester as an exchange student at Spelman College in Atlanta. Lucia and Giles were married in Alexandria, Virginia in 1965, lived in Philadelphia while Giles finished law school and then moved to Seattle, Washington for three years during Giles's military service and where their sons Giles ("Gilescito") and Adam were born.  She loved hiking the mountains of the pacific northwest, sailing in the waters around the San Juan Islands, and most important the many lasting friends she made there. She and Giles then returned to Fairfield to make their home.

Lucia was an active volunteer most of her life as a member of the League of Women Voters, the Rodger Ludlowe Parent Teachers Association, a homebound tutor, and a member, and former president, of Fairfield Community Services.  People were her passion, and in 1987 she graduated from Columbia University with a master's degree in social work.  She practiced geriatric social work for the next 20 years at the Veterans Hospital in West Haven and loved every day doing it.  In later years, her interests centered on lifting the stigma of mental health, particularly depression and schizophrenia and supporting Alcoholics Anonymous.

In addition to her husband, Lucia is survived by her son Adam Payne and four grandchildren: Fiona Payne, Gareth Payne, Alex Zielinski, and Irene Zielinski, all of Atlanta, Georgia. She is also survived by her brother John McClintock of Baltimore, Maryland, and her sister Susan McClintock Vas Dias of Bonar Bridge, Sutherland, Scotland.  In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by her son Giles Payne, her brother Michael McClintock and her sister Deborah McClintock Cook.

There will be no calling hours.  A Memorial Mass will be celebrated at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Fairfield, Connecticut on Saturday, November 18, 2023, at 11:00 AM. Interment will be private. The memorial service will be live-streamed and archived at the church website. Online condolences can be offered at https://www.redgatehennessy.com/

Memorial contributions are suggested to Brain & Behavior Research Foundation www.bbrfoundation.org/;  The Bridgeport Hospital Foundation foundation.bridgeporthospital.org/; and United Way of Coastal and Western Connecticut www.unitedwaycwc.org/

Brain & Behavior Research Foundation
747 Third Avenue, 33rd Floor, New York NY 10017
Tel: 1-646-681-4888
Web: https://www.bbrfoundation.org/

Bridgeport Hospital Foundation
267 Grant Street, Bridgeport CT 06610
Web: https://foundation.bridgeporthospital.org/

United Way of Coastal and Western Connecticut
10 Middle Street, 11th Floor, Bridgeport CT 06604
Tel: 1-203-334-5106
Web: https://www.unitedwaycwc.org/