Jean McConville Payne

Jean McConville Payne passed away unexpectedly on April 1, 2026, at the age of 70 due to complications from vascular dementia. Born June 17, 1955, in Tucson, Az, she was one of three children (her twin sister Kay and younger sister Lynn) born to John and Mildred McConville. Jean moved to Yellow Springs when she was three in 1958 for her father’s position as a researcher at Antioch College.

Jean graduated Yellow Springs High School in 1973 and received her BFA from Wright State University in 1989. Jean married Steve Payne in 1993. She retired from Wright State University’s Boonshoft School of Medicine, Lifespan Health Research Center where she worked for the Fels Longitudinal Study (22 years) in 2012.

In the 1980s, Jean instructed the Yellow Springs 4-H Sewing Club and in the 1990s, she and her husband routinely chaperoned Boy Scout campouts. She was a long-time volunteer for the local Yellow Springs Cable Access channel 5 and active member of the Yellow Springs Historical Society, contributing to YS Historical Society with artwork and cataloging their collections. She updated Miami Township cemetery database. Jean and her husband volunteered at the Dayton Art Institute. She enjoyed taking road trips to visit Ohio’s local attractions.

Jean is survived by her husband, Steve Payne; daughter, Shayna McConville; son, Eric McConville (Nikki); and step-daughter, Lauren Payne (Corey Johnson); her grandchildren Lux McConville, Theo McConville, Oren Johnson, and Milla Johnson; her sisters, Kay Reimers and Lynn McConville; and she is also survived by numerous nieces, nephews, extended family, and close friends.

The family designates the Dementia Society of America for any donations in memory of Jean.

Jean will be buried near her parents in Yellow Springs, and there will be a celebration of life, at a time and place the family will post in the Yellow Springs News.