Oliver Emerson Payne

KENNEBUNK – Oliver Emerson Payne, whose unquenchable intellectual and spiritual curiosity propelled him from the “Mad Men” world of New York City to Maine, where he continued his successful advertising career along with his own poetry and far-reaching spiritual exploration, died July 7, 2025, at his home in Kennebunk. He was 70. His death resulted from complications related to ALS.

He was born Dec. 2, 1954, in Cincinnati, Ohio, to M. Ellen (Tangeman) and Halbert Emerson Payne. Raised in Riverside, Conn., he went on to attend Phillips Exeter Academy and Yale University, where he studied Comparative Literature: English and Spanish and played varsity soccer. He began his advertising career with national agencies in New York, including Dancer Fitzgerald Sample, helping to run successful campaigns for Skippy Peanut Butter, Hellman’s Mayonnaise, Noxzema, and many others.

In 1987, he and his then-wife, Abbe (Azaima) Anderson, moved to Durham where they began renovating an antique farmhouse and embraced rural life, complete with a cantankerous snow-plow truck. In a plan hatched while playing pool with buddies at his Manhattan loft apartment, he joined advertising entrepreneur Meredith Burgess and others to found a Maine-based agency, Burgess, Brewer, Stanyon & Payne, which later became Burgess Advertising. As a creative director, he managed campaigns for numerous clients, including Oakhurst Dairy, Maine Turnpike Authority, and Mercy Hospital. The recipient of several advertising awards for his campaigns, he also did pro bono work for Maine nonprofits. He retired in 2022.

Advertising/marketing was just one facet of Oliver’s life. Fluent in Spanish, he traveled extensively, both internationally and throughout the U.S. (especially the Southwest), often in one of a succession of Volkswagen Eurovans, which he maintained long after they had been discontinued.

In 1996, he moved to Kennebunk to a house overlooking the Mousam River, a natural setting and sanctuary that he would savor to the end of his life. He joined First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church of Kennebunk, sang in its choir, served as church treasurer, and joined a men’s group that would be part of his week for 25 years. As a newcomer at a Thanksgiving potluck, Oliver met a church member who described taking part in sweat lodges, a spiritual cleansing ritual integral to some Native American cultures.

Intrigued, he soon became a devoted member of the Maine group, often building the fire and leading the prayer. On several occasions he took part in the Sun Dance, a sacred ceremony, driving to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, fasting, and undergoing formidable physical challenges as intentional sacrifice to restore harmony of life. He supported the traditional ways and Oglala Lakota elders through the Cankatola Ti Ospaye organization, which serves as a bridge between Native American and non-Native people.

This deep reverence for the land and compassion for those in need led Oliver to give generously to other environmental and social causes.

His continual search for introspection and expression also led him to another passion, when he attended a poetry workshop during a church retreat. He would join a group of poets that gathered regularly in Cambridge, Mass., critiquing each other’s work, and recently served on the Foundation Board of the Beloit Poetry Journal (BPJ).

Oliver was known and admired for his distinct style, clarity and directness, according to a fellow poet. He participated in public readings and group discussions, offering constructive criticism and gentle encouragement, continuing to contribute until a week before his death. His fellow poets are compiling a collection of his work.

Friends and family point to his enthusiasm not only for poetry, but jazz, kayaking, hiking, yoga, cross-country skiing, road cycling, and coffee, among others.

In 2013, through mutual friends, he discovered another interest: Martha Foley, a local teacher who bicycled on a path near his home. They shared a love of the written word (Martha: novels, poetry, her students’ work; Oliver: The New Yorker The Economist, essays and poetry) the outdoors, travel, and the Kennebunk community, and soon a love for each other.

They married in 2016, and Oliver became part of a new family. He greatly enjoyed his stepchildren, who joined his own siblings in supporting him steadfastly as his seemingly boundless energy declined.

He is survived by his wife, Martha Louise Foley of Kennebunk; his siblings, Elizabeth Payne Johnson and husband Scott of Old Greenwich, Conn., Walter Payne and wife Ninfa Yong of Exeter, N.H., Donald Payne and wife Gail of Centerport, N.Y.; stepmother, Kathryn Madden Payne of Greenwich, Conn.; and half-sister, Martha M. Payne of Milton, Mass.; also, nieces and nephews Hannah, Dylan, Logan, Ethan, and Cora Payne, and Riley and Maddie Johnson; Martha’s children, Greta Hagen and Dave Morgan, Mark Hagen and Janine Bachrachas, and Zoe and Conner Kennedy; four grandchildren, whom he embraced with playfulness and wonder.

Memorial services will be held Sept. 6 at 11 a.m. at First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church in Kennebunk.

To share a memory or leave a message of condolence, please visit Oliver’s Book of Memories Page at http://www.bibberfuneral.com.

Arrangements are in the care of Bibber Memorial Chapel, 67 Summer St., Kennebunk, ME 04043.

Donations in his memory can be made to the ALS Association, Compassionate Care ALS, or Wells Reserve at Laudholm Farm.