Patricia Ann Paynter, crusader for the Lord
Patricia Ann Paynter of Millsboro passed away at her home Sunday, Nov. 5, 2017, surrounded by her loving family. Born in Beebe Hospital, she always called herself the "Beebe Baby." She is the daughter of the late John "Jack" Robinson Buchanan Lawton and Catherine Ingram Lawton.
In her earlier years, she was a bank teller at the Sussex Trust Bank in Lewes. She gave her life to Christ in 1972. Patricia founded Cape Henlopen Christian Fellowship in Rehoboth. She loved Jesus with all her heart, mind, soul and money. She organized trips to crusades, prayer in Washington, marches, and even housed and mentored hurting people over her lifetime. Patricia took short-term missionary endeavors to China, Egypt, Russia, Jamaica, Africa, Panama, Sussex County, and even to Israel 10 times. When you left her presence, you always felt extremely loved, accepted and filled with the hope that you would have a good purpose and a great future ahead. She had a direct line with heaven and could change the weather with her prayers. If you couldn't conceive a baby, she had an anointing to pray and people would conceive. She had a heart for children's ministry, taught Sunday School for over 47 years, taught drama class, and designed costumes for many biblical plays. She and her dearest friend Miss Betty Walker would pray around the clock and had many ministry adventures together. Her giving heart would prompt her to clean out her refrigerator and freezer at least once a month to someone in need.
She and her husband were a great team. He would do all the heavy lifting, hauling, building, and pouring of concrete and brick laying to help a needy family. Together they touched hundreds of people everywhere they went. They had their 50th wedding anniversary in Israel, where Pastor John Hobbs remarried them in the Upper Room. Her legacy will live on as an incredible wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother whose shoes we will never be able to fill. As this larger-than-life woman passed in our presence, with the family gathered around her bed, all her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren witnessed her passing so peacefully as she took her last breath. We asked God to allow her mantle of anointing that she had to love people would fall on all of us so that we may carry on in her footsteps. Mom and dad's legacy has been to do a "Generational Turn Around" so that everyone in our family would live for Jesus, live a blessed life, serve the Lord with passion, and meet them in heaven. Our dad will be the strength of the family, and the guard on watch of the generations. He will continue to encourage us to hold fast to our faith, and be the rock for us to carry on the good works they started together many years ago.
She is survived by her loving husband Samuel Lockner Paynter Sr.; her children: Catherine "Cami" Dukes and her husband Pastor Barry Dukes, Samuel Paynter Jr., and Jacqueline "Jackie" Engle and her husband Mark Engle; sisters Elizabeth Lawton Baker (Mickey), and Catherine Lawton Travis (Jackie); grandchildren; Barry "Bo" Dukes II and wife Katie, Heather Holloway and husband Pastor Kyle Holloway, Samuel Cole Paynter, Samantha Heath and husband Derek, Trevor McMunn and wife Carly, Kelsey McMunn, Mark Engle II and wife Haley, Jessie Engle, Mike Wilkerson and wife Amy, and Chase Sams; great-grandchildren Layni Dukes, Rowan Dukes, Reid Dukes, Rory Dukes, Caleb Holloway, Addison Holloway, Jake Holloway, Erin Kuster, Skip Kuster, Brelle Wilkerson, Brook Wilkerson, and two babies on the way, one in February and one in May.
A visitation will be held Saturday, Nov. 11, from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m., at the Connection Church, 30048 Sussex Hwy., Laurel. A funeral service will begin at 1 p.m. at the church. Interment will be Monday, Nov. 13, at 10 a.m., at the Delaware Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Millsboro.
Mom dearly loved flowers, but enjoyed watching people grow in the Lord even more. In lieu of flowers, please send a donation in her memory to her home church, Connection Church, P.O. Box 60, Laurel, DE 19956
Online condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.hsdfuneralhome.com.
Arrangements are in the care of the Hannigan, Short, Disharoon Funeral Home.
