VALDOSTA – Alvin Payton Sr. was known as a hard-working man, a caring man, a competitive man.

He was one of the first elected black officials in the region, serving two terms on the Lowndes County Commission throughout the late 1980s and into the early 1990s.

He owned and operated Payton Floor Covering, also known as Valdosta Floor Covering, for decades. He retired after 55 years in business.

Payton passed away last week. He was 84 years old. Funeral services are scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 4, Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church.

Yet, the culmination of his hard work, compassion and competitive drive is revealed in a story shared by Payton and two of his children a few years ago.

Each day, after a full day of work, Payton had his five sons stand in line to play basketball.

“He would get home from work after a full day and he would play each one of us,” Alvin Payton Jr. said in a past interview with The Valdosta Daily Times.

“And he wouldn’t let us win either,” Anthony Payton said.

“No, he would beat us,” Alvin Payton Jr. said.

“Our goal in life was to beat him at basketball,” Anthony Payton said.

Alvin Payton Sr. said he never challenged all of his sons as a group.

“No,” he said. “No, that wouldn’t have been smart. And as they got older and bigger, I had to play smarter and smarter.”

“Yeah, Dad came up with some creative ways to play as we got older,” Alvin Payton Jr. said.

The five sons passed the tradition to their sons. 

All of Alvin Payton Sr.’s and wife Claudia “Sarah” Payton’s sons and daughters attended college and worked in careers of their choosing. Alvin Payton Jr. has followed in his father’s political footsteps as a Valdosta city councilman.

Alvin Payton Sr. was the second child of 10 children and the eldest of five sons. Alvin Payton Sr. was born to B.J. and Rebecca Payton and raised on the family’s farm near Clyattville. 

He grew up working the family farm, honing a work ethic, which his father struck home with an adage that became familiar to Alvin Payton Sr.’s youngsters, too. 

“There’s a real world out there.”

Alvin Payton Sr. met Sarah. They married and started a family. 

Back in the late 1950s, they moved to Valdosta, where Alvin Payton Sr. started his carpet-laying business with only a few old tools. Through hard work and through the years, he built his business, Payton Floor Covering.

Running the business was a family enterprise. 

“You never know whose life you’ll affect just by being visible and participating,” Alvin Payton Sr. said in the past interview. “Always communicate with your children. Talk to them. Listen to them. Be an example for them. Those are the most important things. Communicate and be that example.”