Sally Vivian Payne

Sally Vivian Payne of El Paso, TX passed away on Thursday, January 29th, 2009. Truly courageous to the end, she was full of hope, for both her future, and that of this great new political administration. We are so very saddened that she didn’t get to finish her story. Sally was born in Rochester, NY on September 1, 1957, the third daughter of Mary Ann & Robert Payne. Always the rebel, always the one with a mischievous glint in her eye. She was a cross country runner, played the trumpet & flute and excelled in academics. As a young adult, she chose the US Army as a career and became a medical laboratory technician. This experience took her to Hawaii, Germany, the Pacific Northwest and of course, El Paso. It was in the military that she met her husband of 18 years, Michal Bennink. This marriage gave her the real love of her life, her son, Benjamin Bennink. Ben was everything to Sally, and she doted, loved and wished the very best for him. In Sally’s professional life, she worked as a chemist at the El Paso Water Utility. Juggling work, home, and school, she was also working on an environmental science degree at UTEP. We’re proud to say that at the time of her death, she still had her 4.0 She leaves her son, Benjamin Bennink of Saratoga Springs, NY, siblings Kate Walholm (Tony) of Pukalani, HI, Miche DeCook (Bob) of Newark NY, Cynthia Polly Payne of Seattle, WA, Andrew Payne of Canandaigua, NY and Sandy Gorall (Joseph) and their two daughters, Anna & Ellie. We are grateful to the staff at Las Palmas ICU for the compassion and constant care that Sally received over the last month and we know that she would say the same. A Celebration of Sally’s life will be held in El Paso on Wednesday, February 4, 2009 at 6:00 p.m. at Sunset Funeral Homes-Northeast. A separate service will be held in the Springtime in Upstate NY. Any charitable donations in Sally’s name can be made to The Sierra Club or the Democratic National Party.