Real life Portia named after well-known radio character

Because I’ve been around a while, I thought I’d share some trivia facts some of you may not know about our citizens. Jimmy and Coy Dellinger Payne named their baby daughter Portia, after the daily radio soap opera, “Portia Faces Life.”

Portia was a lawyer loved by all the listeners in the soap opera, and hundreds or thousands of school kids have been helped and inspired by Center’s Portia Payne Gaines with her teaching.

Mrs. Iva Hurst was a dedicated Republican and organized a Young Republican Club that met in her home after school. She headed the “Ike for President” drive in Shelby County, so it was natural for her to name her pet cat Ike. She had a car seat made for Ike to travel around town with her. When he died, she bought a baby sized casket from the funeral home and buried him in it.