Nancy Payson passed away overlooking her beloved Port Townsend on Nov. 2, 2020. Nancy was born to Carl Lawson Crain and Judith Lucille (Roads) Crain on Nov. 23, 1933 in Long Beach, California. Nancy was 86.
Nancy spent her early years in Southern California and attended Chapman College with her husband Fred Myers. They had three children, Connie, Chris, and Craig while residing in Newport Beach, California. Newport was a great place to raise a family and there were many happy times there.
In 1970, Nancy married Herb Payson, her partner in life and in adventure. They decided to sell everything and buy “Sea Foam,” a 25-year-old, 36-foot wooden ketch. They set sail with the kids on an adventure of a lifetime. Nancy, Herb, Connie, Chris, Craig, and Herb’s son Philip sailed almost everywhere in the South Pacific over an eight-year period and were joined in far-off ports by Herb’s daughters Sarah and Maha.
Her next phase of life’s adventure was living in Maine with Herb. They spent three happy years there in the land of Herb’s birth. Being the ever-adventurous couple, they moved aboard the 32-foot sloop “Red Shoes” for at least a decade and explored all areas of the Caribbean and up the Amazon River. They continued with further adventures with a Class C motorhome towing a day sailor to almost every navigable lake in North America.
Nancy and Herb finally settled down in the town of their dreams: Port Townsend, Washington. Some of Nancy’s fondest memories were there; her time volunteering at Habitat for Humanity, the times she spent with her Red Hat Society ladies, her bridge club friends, and the enjoyment she got working on her puzzles. She thrived in this sailing port town, making many lifelong friends.
She was preceded in death by her husband Herbert Payson III; sister Judy Boroughf; brother Danny Crain; and stepdaughter Mahaleena (Eileen McHenry Payson). She is survived by her daughter Connie and Jerry Black; sons Chris and Vicki Myers; and Craig and Lynnette Myers; her stepson Phillip and Meg Payson; and stepdaughter Sarah and Steve Pollock; and also nine grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.
Nancy’s life was full of adventure, friendships, and familial love — from surviving two hurricanes in two oceans to the many challenges of raising children on a 36-foot boat. She was a strong and tenacious woman. That strength, as well as her sharp sense of humor, let her take on the world and thrive in every environment.
This world will miss her exuberance, her passion, her joy for life and her infectious laugh. A celebration of life to be arranged at a later time.
