John and Louie Payne Endowed Scholarship

The John and Louie Payne Scholarship was established by Louie McClanahan Payne of Huntsville, Texas in memory of her husband John W. Payne, Jr. Dr. John Payne was a distinguished professor of history at Sam Houston from 1955 until his retirement in 1986. John and Louie met in Hale County during their time teaching in the public school system. They were both educators and inspired many students during their academic careers. John and Louie celebrated 65 years of marriage in December 2008, just prior to John’s death in April 2009. It is the Donors’ intent for the endowment to provide two annual scholarship awards at a minimum of $3,000 each to be announced in the spring and disbursed the following academic year, half in the fall and the remaining half in the spring semester. Scholarship awards shall not exceed 80% of the earnings of the endowment. This scholarship was established to assist with education expenses.