LeVerne Payne, creator of Soul Santa, dedicated life to community, dies at 82

One Tallahassee man's legacy – Soul Santa – will live on after him.

Almost everybody in Frenchtown and many throughout Tallahassee knew the Payne family, especially LeVerne Payne, director of what was called the Fourth Avenue Community Center, renamed in his honor in 2007. He died Feb. 20 at his home; he was 82.

People "talk about the movie nights, they talk about the dance team, they talk about the step team, and how some of them wouldn't even be alive without my father," said Tyesin Payne, his youngest daughter.

His longest lasting gift to the community may be Soul Santa, which he came up with (though he never played the role). "Santa" and "Mrs. Claus" – who would sometimes arrive via helicopter – would greet local kids and hand out toys. The Christmastime event became a beloved neighborhood tradition, slowed but not stopped by the recent COVID pandemic.

Helpful from the beginning

A Tallahassee native, Payne graduated from FAMU Developmental Research School and went on to serve in the U.S. Army from 1961 to 1963. He joined the Army reserve went to college at FAMU, where he later graduated.

Payne also helped out during the Tallahassee bus boycott alongside his wife Nellie Johnson Payne, as the two worked at his parents' gas station near Old Bainbridge Road and Brevard Street. In fact, throughout his life, Payne embodied the spirit of "help thy neighbor."

Fourth Avenue Community Center: Where Soul Santa created

In 1972, after the city acquired the building, the community center was created, and around 1975 Payne began working there, his most notable creation being Soul Santa. Payne himself never put on the suit, but he helped bring the Christmas spirit to countless families.

"He would see kids with no shoes, barefoot running around," Tyesin said. "He said the saddest time of the year ... would be Christmas and he said he may not be able to do something every day but him and the rest of the community and the people that created (Soul Santa), that's when they felt they could do the most."

Payne "knew he could come home and give his kids Christmas. What about these other kids that will wake up to nothing?" Tyesin went on. "Then on top of that, what about the kids that don't get to see a Santa that looks like them? (They need) a Santa that they actually feel they can ask for something."

Though Payne's work at the center went far beyond Soul Santa, Tyesin listed off how her father helped with back-to-school drives, the center's baseball team, the step team — anything he could help with, he did, she said.

"He organized lock-ins at the center for the kids, these kids they're coming out of the neighborhoods ... they don't get to see the newest movies, they don't get to have the popcorn," Tyesin explained. "My dad made sure that at least for one night ... kids (could) have that experience."

Payne worked at the community center for 30 years, retiring in 2005, but even retirement wouldn't stop him as he continued to offer and provide help where he could, his family said.

'LeVerne's Kids' follow in his footsteps

At home, Payne's children say he was a jokester and prankster, playfully messing with them throughout their childhood. He loved photography, having an extensive collection of cameras, and went hunting and bird watching.

One of his favorite artists was James Brown, and he especially loved roller skating to James Brown, they said. LeVerne joined Tyesin for a field trip to Jacksonville, and one night they went out roller skating, where LeVerne stole the show.

"He walked over to the DJ and asked him to play James Brown. Minutes later, I hear people clapping and screaming ... Even the DJ is over the mic, talking about this man on the skates," Tyesin said. "I get up and I look and I see my dad do this flip. He did flips, splits, twirls."

He loved westerns and he got the chance to meet one of his childhood heroes on a family road trip to California.

"We stopped at different places and we stopped at the Will Rogers' museum," Martista shared. "He was so happy when we stopped there, and Will Rogers was there too."

But most of all, he loved his wife. "He loved her from the moment her saw her," said Tyesin. The couple spent 53 years together.

Payne's legacy inspires his children, and all three of his grandchildren.

Martista has worked to start Soul Santa in Orlando, where he currently resides. Kimberly remains connected with FSU Black Alumni, and her daughter, the oldest grandchild, Kennedy, is a freshman at FAMU. She and her cousins hope to continue their grandfather's legacy.

The family plans a private funeral but will host a public memorial service in March for the community to honor and celebrate Payne's life.

Contact Arianna Otero via email at AOtero@tallahassee.com or on Twitter/X: @ari_v_otero.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: LeVerne Payne, creator of Soul Santa, dies