Howard Payne Meadows, 73, a resident of Lowndesboro, Alabama died Saturday, May 19, 2012. Funeral services are scheduled for Wednesday, May 23, 2012 at 10:30 a.m. at the Lowndesboro United Methodist Church with Reverend Travis W. Barnes, III and Reverend James E. Greene officiating.

Burial will follow at Oakview Cemetery in Lowndesboro, Alabama with Leak-Memory directing.

Meadows was born June 10, 1938, to Eli Ransom and Louise Payne Meadows of Lowndesboro.

He is survived by his wife Mary Allen Weaver Meadows, one daughter Mary Elizabeth and son-in-law Joe Sanford Rosser, Jr. of Lowndesboro, two sons and daughters-in-law Payne Ransom and Jennifer Langford Meadows, Howard Weaver and Janice Allen Meadows of Greenville; six grandchildren Joe Sanford Rosser, III and Meadows Madden Rosser of Lowndesboro; Mary Virginia, Caroline Leary, Kathleen Langford, and Sarah Allen Meadows, all of Greenville; one sister, Maxine Coker and her husband Thomas of Lowndesboro; two nieces Louise C. Porter and her husband James of Montpelier, Vermont and Susan C. Mohun and her husband Barry of Moundville.

Meadows attended Hayneville High School and was a 1960 graduate of Auburn University with a degree in Agricultural Science, where he was a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity.

Upon graduation, he returned home to farm the land his family had settled prior to Alabama’s statehood. An avid cattleman, Meadows continued a family tradition of interest in the cattle industry. He maintained a commercial cow-calf herd from his early teens until his recent death. He also became active in row crop farming, raising cotton for almost 40 years. He served on the Board of Directors of the Montgomery Farmer’s Cooperative and was on the Lowndes County Soil and Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors.

In addition, Meadows was a member of the Lowndes County Farm Service Agency County Committee, and served on both the Board of Directors of the Lowndes County Cattlemen’s Association and the Board of the Lowndes County Farmer’s Federation. He was a member of the Lowndes Academy Board of Trustees from 1980-1991, serving on the Finance Committee and as Chairman of the Athletic Committee.  A lifetime member of the Lowndesboro United Methodist Church, Meadows served in various capacities including treasurer, Sunday school superintendent, and community church choir.

Memorials may be made to the Lowndesboro United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 290, Lowndesboro, AL 36752, the Lowndes Academy Trust Fund, P.O. Box 99, Lowndesboro, AL 36752, or to one’s favorite charity.