Janet Elaine Payne Wilson

Janet Elaine Payne-Wilson, 88, of Benton, passed away at her home on Thursday morning, March 12, 2026. Born in Chicago Heights, Illinois, on January 9, 1938, she was the daughter of Gale and Hazel (Parrish) Sneed. The family moved to Ewing when Janet was in fifth grade. She graduated from Benton High School and married Robert (Bob) Payne on October 28, 1955. Bob preceded her in death on February 15, 2011.

Janet worked in a law office and a local bank before managing the showroom and office for her husband’s business, Pinson and Payne, which later became Bob Payne Plumbing in Benton. She later handled office duties for a Benton real estate company. In 2013, she reconnected with a former Ewing Grade School classmate, William Wilson, and they married on September 28, 2013. Bill survives her.

As a young woman, Janet loved singing with the Sneed Sisters and the gospel group The Psalmaneers. She was a longtime, active member of Whittington Baptist Church, where she formed many close friendships. She was known for her cooking, especially her exceptional pies, and she enjoyed participating in the church’s senior meals and quilting group.

Janet is survived by her husband, William Wilson; daughters Gayla Dial (Bryan) of Riverview, Florida, and Robin McAfoos (Tom) of Thompsonville, Illinois; sister Judy Smith (Tom) and brother-in-law John Payne (Barbara), all of Benton; three grandchildren, Rachel (Gostowski) Valosik (Jim) of Nashville, Tennessee, Jason Gostowski (Kate) of Woosburn, Kentucky, and Jessie (McAfoos) Fedyniak (Alec) of Sierra Madre, California; four step-children, Julie Brannan of Missoula, Montana, Carla Brannan of Gillette, Wyoming, Jane Todd of Carrollton, Illinois, and Cathy Wilson of Eldred, Illinois; and step-grandchildren George (Christina) Dial and their children Kinsley and Lincoln of Clarksville, Tennessee, and Amy (Hector) Quintero and their daughter Annalise of Dover AFB, Delaware. She was also blessed with many great-grandchildren and step-great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, first husband, two sisters and their husbands, Evelyn and Ronald Newcomb and Carolyn and Ronald Lynch, and an infant brother, Milford Lee.