Yvonne Naomi "Payne" Payne-Phillips

Yvonne Naomi Payne-Phillips was born in Barbados, West Indies, on September 23, 1944, to Joseph and Iola Payne. She immigrated with her parents, brothers Charles, Mark, Fitz, Joe, and Alvin, and sisters Gwen and Joyce to the United States at a young age, settling in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She graduated from Cambridge High and Latin School, earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Suffolk University, and later received a Master’s degree from Boston State College, which later became UMass-Boston.

Yvonne dedicated nearly thirty years of her life to teaching in the Boston Public Schools, serving at various high schools across the city. A passionate Biology educator, she inspired countless students to pursue higher education and follow their academic dreams. She concluded her distinguished teaching career in the early 2000s as a Biology teacher at Boston Latin School.

She is survived by her husband of fifty years, Reggie Phillips, her children Iola and Reggie Phillips, and her grandson Emanuel Schuler.