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Rita Grindstaff “Mattie” Payne, 87, Elizabethton, passed away Wednesday, June 28, 2023, at Hermitage Health Center. She was born February 11, 1936 in Carter County to the late Elbert Clinton and Golda Mae Hardin Grindstaff.
Mattie was a 1954 graduate of Unaka High School and was a homemaker. She was an extremely good pianist and organist, having played in church for several years. She was a member of Memorial Presbyterian Church of Elizabethton.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by several brothers and sisters.
Survivors include her husband, Nathaniel C. Payne; one brother and sister-in-law, Henry Anthony and Betty Grindstaff of Bristol, Tenn.; and several special nieces and nephews.
Mattie will be buried in the Mountain Home National Cemetery. Everything will be private.
Memorial Funeral Chapel is serving the Payne family.