Ricky Lawrence Payne



Ricky Lawrence Payne, 15, of Mount Carmel passed away Thursday, April 6, 2023 at home.

He was born on May 1, 2007, in Pottsville, PA, a son of Brent and Kristie Payne.

Ricky was a 9th grade student at Mount Carmel Area High School, but previously attended North Schuylkill and Towanda Area School Districts.

He loved football, lacrosse and wrestling. He was scheduled to wrestle on April 23 in Bloomsburg to qualify for Eastern Nationals. He was always ready to wrestle anyone, no matter the age or weight.

You could always find Ricky dancing to any beat, it didnt matter what kind of music. He loved making people smile, and his love for family and friends was unending. He made many friends in his short 15 years on this earth. He referred to many of them as his brothers and sisters from all of his sports teams. He was a talker and jokester at school, which made his friends laugh but his teachers not so much. Ricky will be missed by so many. He was looking forward to turning 16 in just a few weeks because he wanted his drivers license so badly.

Ricky worked at Knoebels. He was so proud of his first job and enjoyed working with his park family.

He was preceded in death by his grandfather, Richard VanDeMark, great grandfather, Willis Jones, and great grandparents, Lawrence and Marjorie Weaver.

in addition to his parents, Ricky is survived by two brothers, Garrett VanDeMark and fiance Kelsey of Philadelphia, Christopher Payne of Mount Carmel; Maternal Grandparents, James and wife Beverly Lake of Towanda; Paternal grandmother Bette Weaver of Towanda; paternal grandfather, Terry Payne of Rochester, NY; great grandmother, Theresa Jones of Engligh Center, PA; two uncles, Richard and wife Megan VanDeMark of Rome, PA, Joshua and wife Kirstie Lake of Athens; aunt Cheyenne and wife Tiffany VanDeMark of Bradford, PA, along with several other aunts, uncles and cousins.

Ricky was proudly named after his Grandpa Rick and his Great Grandpa Lawrence.

A viewing will be held at the Joseph J. Stutz Inc. Funeral Home 40 N. Market Street, Mount Carmel, on Wednesday, April 12th from 4 to 6pm, with a service at 6pm. A memorial lantern release will be held promptly at 8pm at the MCA High School soccer fields.

A viewing will also be held at the Maryott-Bowen Funeral Home 217 York Ave, Towanda, on Thursday April 13 from 2-4pm.

Graveside services and burial will be made on Friday April 14, at 10AM at the Bradford County Memorial Park.

The family requests that memorial contributions be made in Ricky's name to any of the following: Mount Carmel Area Wrestling Boosters, North Schuylkill Wrestling Boosters, or the Towanda Wrestling Boosters.

Condolences can be left for the family at www.buffingtonreed.com .