Family/Spouse: Living. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Died:
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, John William Payzant, 90, of Bedford, Nova Scotia, on February 9th, 2021. He was born to parents, Allen Godfrey and Sadie Belle Payzant, on June 25th, 1930. He was predeceased by his parents, his beautiful wife, Shirley Elizabeth (Elliott), two brothers, Allen Frederick Payzant and Clyde Andrew Payzant and granddaughter, Tara Dawn Payzant.

How does one summarize the life of this man? Dad left the family farm at the tender age of fourteen, to pursue his childhood dream of becoming a successful businessman, with a grade nine education. Beginning his work life earning $18 a week, at a furniture store in Windsor, Nova Scotia, he quickly realized after marrying the love of his life, Shirley, in 1951, and with the addition of their first child, that he needed to do better. They moved to Lr. Sackville in 1952, to begin working for Ted B. Blackburn at Blackburn Shopping Centre, one of the first shopping malls in the province. After years of hard work and gleaning many valuable business tips from Blackburn, Dad purchased the basement of the Blackburn building and established a hardware store. In 1969, Dad had built that business to a level that allowed him to build a new store on Sackville Drive, where it still operates today. In 1970, he joined ranks with the Home Hardware family of stores, largely due to the company’s guiding ethic- that community and the common good is simply good business. Dad did business in an “old fashioned” way, built on the philosophy of maintaining a good relationship with his customers. When the local housing boom started in the early 1970’s, he extended credit to many young families, who could not otherwise afford to to pay for all of the building materials they needed, all at once. Lending a helping hand was commonplace for Dad, having a generous and compassionate heart for those who needed a hand up. Those early years were hard work, where he regularly logged 70 hours a week, and even if the store was closed, the phone would ring from someone with an urgent need for something, and off he would go to unlock the door and fill that need for his customer. Dad served in many groups and committees, some of which include the Kinsmen Club of Sackville, the Lake District Recreation Association, the Sackville Chamber of Commerce and was a 40 year member of the the Atlantic Building Supply Dealers Association, where he served as chairman in 1989/90. Many would say that our Dad helped to build Sackville to what it is today. Words we have heard from many of his friends and acquaintances, describe him as, a true gentleman, community builder and leader, icon of Sackville, pillar, helper, Sackville advocate, hands on, down to earth, fair. A man who gave from his heart, a great friend, whose kindness benefited so many. Our father has left a rich legacy, considering his greatest wealth to be his family. Dad never forgot his roots and deep love for his parents small family farm in Bishopville, Nova Scotia. Every weekend, we would make the drive to his family homestead where we as children, loved to play and explore “the farm”, helping feed the cows, while visiting with Gram and our Uncle Clyde. His grandchildren and great grandchildren all still love and enjoy the family property, that he so lovingly preserved for us. Dad has instilled in us the importance of honesty, hard work, fairness, generosity, supporting local business and most of all, family. We are beyond blessed to have had this gentle man to call “Dad, Grandad and Great Grandad. We have lost a
great patriarch and we will love you forever, Dad.

Internment shall be at the Bishopville Cemetery at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Cobequid Community Health Centre http://www.cobequidfoundation.ca or the Bishopville Baptist Church. Cheques can be made out to

Bishopville Baptist Church
c/o Audrey Crowell
1287 Bishopville Rd,
RR1, Hantsport, N.S.,
B0P 1P0

John married Shirley Elizabeth Elliott in 1951. Shirley (daughter of James Rallin Elliott and Frances) was born in 1933 in Economy, Colchester, Nova Scotia; died on 3 Dec 1999 in Halifax, Nova Scotia; was buried in Bishopville Cemetery, Kings, Nova Scotia. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Died:
PAYZANT (Elliott), Shirley Elizabeth - 66, Bedford, went to be with her Savior on December 3, 1999, in Halifax. Born in Economy, she was a daughter of Frances Elliott, Winnipeg, and the late James Rallin Elliott. Shirley devoted her life to her family and serving her Lord through sharing her life story in speaking engagements and her published book of poetry. She was a member of Temple Baptist Church, past president of Sackville Kinettes and was involved with Girl Guides. Shirley loved life and lived it to the fullest. She traveled extensively with her husband, John and one by one traveled with her grandchildren to Montreal by train. She was past chairman of the Christian Women's Club and touched many lives in that capacity. She was predeceased by brother Eugene Elliott and brother-in-law, Clyde Payzant. Burial will be in Bishopville Cemetery, Bishopville.

Allen married Sadie Belle Beckwith on 5 Nov 1929 in Hantsport, Hants, Nova Scotia. Sadie (daughter of Andrew Burpee Beckwith and Annabelle Rhoda Riley) was born on 19 Nov 1907 in Bishopville, Kings, Nova Scotia; died on 17 Aug 2010 in Bishopville, Kings, Nova Scotia; was buried in Riverbank Cemetery, Hantsport, Hants, Nova Scotia. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Died:
PAYZANT (Beckwith), Sadie Belle — 102, lifelong resident of Bishop­ville, passed away peacefully at home on Tuesday, August 17, 2010. Born on November 19, 1907, in Bishopville, she was a daughter of the late Andrew and Annabelle (Ri­ley) Beckwith. Af­ter completing high school in Hantsport, she found employ­ment as a \'Nanny\' and housemaid in Windsor for five years. Sadie moved to Boston, Mass. for the next four years, where she continued work­ing in her chosen profession. In 1929 with the \'Great Depression\' looming Allen Payzant made his way to Boston and convinced Sadie to return to Nova Scotia with him to become his bride. Sadie and Allen purchased a farm in Bishopville where they worked side by side clearing land, growing crops and raising livestock to sustain their new family. Like their hearts, the door of their house was always open, pro­viding a home for family, school teach­ers and hired help. Sadie was often called upon to mother babies, toddlers and youngsters in addition to raising her own boys. Increasingly, Sadie be­came famous for her award-winning pies, bread and rolls, preserves and fancy work in local exhibitions. Her outstanding quilts were highly sought after, as every thread was painstak­ingly stitched by her talented hands. She was always proud to display her many ribbons and awards which were won by her at local county exhibitions throughout the province. Sadie was a founding member of the Bishopville Daisy Club. This club became the hub of activity when it purchased the for­mer \'Little Red Schoolhouse\' and was renovated into the community hall. Sadie was instrumental in organizing a committee to restore the Bishopville Cemetery and she worked diligently to keep the doors to the Bishopville Church open. Sadie was a lifetime member of Hantsport Baptist Church, where she sat on many committees over the years. She was also a member of the Hantsport Elders Project and had always taken a heartfelt interest in the welfare of others. Above all else, her love and devotion to her fam­ily always shone through. She was predeceased by her beloved husband, Allen (1963); infant son, Fre­derick; son, Clyde (1998); daughter-in­-law, Shirley (1999); granddaughter-in­-law, Kristine (2000); brothers, George, James and Stanley; sisters, Lena, Ru­by, Jesse and Ida. Funeral service will be held 2 p.m. Friday, August 20, in Hantsport Baptist Church, (corner of Willow and Main Streets) Hant­sport, Rev. Daniel Jamer officiating, followed by burial in Riverbank Cem­etery, Hantsport. A reception will fol­low in Hantsport Baptist Church Fel­lowship Hall. In lieu of flowers, dona­tions in memory of Sadie may be made to Bishopville Cemetery.

James married Frances. Frances was born on 3 Sep 1906 in Nottingham, England; died on 8 Oct 2005 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Died:
FRANCES ELLIOTT Peacefully at 1:24 a.m., Saturday, October 8, 2005, at Riverview Health Centre, Frances (Granmom) Elliott went to be with her Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, at the age of 99 years. Born in Nottingham, England on September 3, 1906, Granmom moved to Canada at the age of 14 in 1920. She lived in numerous places in Nova Scotia, Ontario and Manitoba over the years while raising five children, a good number of years as a single mom, after the death of her husband Rallin, in 1953. She moved a number of times over the years just to be with family and finally, at the age of 91 moved from Hantsport, NS back to Winnipeg, MB, where she lived for seven years with her granddaughter Tressa Lemky (Ron) and great-granddaughter Samantha Lockhart. In her younger years, Granmom was an avid curler and bowler. She had a lovely voice and was active in the Glee Club in Windsor NS. Granmom loved live theatre, particularly comedy, which is no surprise to anyone who has witnessed her dry sense of humour. Granmom loved to travel and returned to England three times over the years. One of her fondest travel memories was the trip to Cancun with her daughter Shirley and husband John and John's mother Sadie on the occasion of John and Shirley's 25th anniversary. One of Granmom's favourite Mother's Day gifts and memories was the trip that her family sent her on in 1999. Granmom went to see her beloved Blue Jays in Toronto where she was hosted by the team and the Skydome Hotel for a weekend that she would never forget. Not only did she see her team play and win but was able to meet numerous players and coaches and most importantly she was able to meet and spend a fair bit of time chatting with her favourite Blue Jay of all, Tony Fernandez. She made the front page of both the Toronto and Winnipeg Sun newspapers and was interviewed by a number of the local TV stations including CTV. Granmom was predeceased by two of her children, Eugene (Ellen) in 1984 and Shirley Payzant (John) in 1999. The family wishes to express their sincere appreciation and thanks to the Doctors and Nursing staff of Riverview Health Centre for their compassionate care of Granmom over these last 11 months. We also want to thank all of those who helped her with her daily needs and did those little things, like making her tea every afternoon, that kept her feeling so much more than just a patient. A celebration of Granmom's life will be held on Saturday, October 15 at 1:00 p.m. at Springs Church, 595 Lagimodiere Blvd., in Winnipeg, MB.

William married Florence Savage on 10 Apr 1890 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Florence was born in 1871 in Worcester, England; died in 1897 in Nova Scotia. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Andrew married Annabelle Rhoda Riley. Annabelle (daughter of Thomas Riley and Sarah Miltilda Hazel) was born on 10 Jun 1872 in Pembrooke, Hants, Nova Scotia; died on 30 Apr 1955 in Bishopville, Kings, Nova Scotia; was buried in Riverbank Cemetery, Hantsport, Hants, Nova Scotia. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]