Photo by Patrick Filbin / Chattooga County Probate Judge Jon Payne, right, meets with Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger, in Summerville in December. Payne died Tuesday morning.Jon Payne, longtime probate judge in Chattooga County, has died due to complications from COVID-19.
The news of Payne's COVID-19 positive test came on July 26, days before Chattooga County was forced to close several public buildings because of coronavirus cases that had been discovered in the community.
Payne was one of three judges to test positive at the time. Chattooga County Magistrate Judge Tracy Maddux and State Court Judge Jon Dennis also tested positive around the same time as Payne.
Payne was later hospitalized and was admitted to the intensive care unit, according to his family, as it updated local media about his battle.
Payne is the fifth person to die in Chattooga County from the virus. The county has struggled with a mild outbreak since late July. More than 160 people have tested positive in the past two weeks, which is nearly 44% of the county's total cases. On Aug. 13, the county hit a record with 32 new cases. The previous record was 21 set the day before.
Nearly all of the employees at the Chattooga County jail had either tested positive or were experiencing symptoms.
Payne had been in office since 1974 when he took over for temporary Probate Judge Lann Cordle. Cordle was serving out the unexpired term of Paul Weems, who died unexpectedly at the time. Payne was 25 when he took office.
At the end of this year's General Assembly, lawmakers at the Capitol recognized Payne before his retirement and passed a resolution to commemorate his career. Sen. Jeff Mullis helped pass the resolution that honored Payne for "efficient, effective, unselfish, and dedicated public service to the state of Georgia."
Payne's tenure was scheduled to end at the end of this year. Gary Woods won in a runoff election to replace Payne in August and will face independent candidate Holley Strawn Gilleland in November.
Commissioner Jason Winters said in a statement flags will be lowered to half mast at the courthouse today until the burial. A wreath will be placed at the steps of the courthouse with a box for people to drop off condolence cards.
Contact Patrick Filbin at pfilbin@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6476. Follow him on Twitter @PatrickFilbin.