Mr. Herbert V. Payne

Mr. Herbert V. Payne was a modest man, quiet and observant in his ways. He was trustworthy and traditional in his approach to his life and in his relationships. He was tough-minded with the kind of “stick to it” attitude that earned the respect of all who knew him. He was also a man who was meticulous, carefully disciplined, and orderly in virtually everything he undertook. Realistic about life, he was always at the ready, prepared to take on responsibility.

Herbert was born on December 1, 1948 at Mt. Clemens General Hospital in Mt. Clemens, Michigan. His parents were Herbert "Jay" Joseph and Grace Payne. Herbert was raised in Roseville, Michigan. He was brought up to be self-confident and dependable. These were traits that would serve him well throughout his life.

Growing up in the Payne household was a bit different than most homes. There were good times to be had, but just as often there was a fair share of challenges as well. However, Herbert was able to work through the usual family problems when they appeared, and he was the one person in the family who seemed able to keep the stress at bay. Herbert was raised with 8 siblings. He had 5 brothers Greg, Phillip, Christopher, John and Matthew and 3 sisters Tina, Alicia and Rhonda. Herbert was constantly involved in activities with his brothers and sisters. Herbert and his siblings may have had the typical rivalries while growing up but Herbert was always consistently loyal to his family.

As a young child, Herbert was never someone who needed to be the center of attention. He wasn’t pushy and never forced his way into games or other activities. Herbert developed a variety of interests, though, and the things he enjoyed doing he did well. He was always curious about the world around him and was often eager to explore it. Herbert took part in baseball on "Korvette's Lot" before the Sandlot movie. He was an alterboy. In his spare time he liked westerns, cartoons and loved music by Elvis and the Beach Boys. However, what Herbert enjoyed most was simply playing and spending time with his many friends.

While his teachers and even his friends generally thought of Herbert as being a serious person, he managed to have a pretty good time in high school as he made that critical transition from adolescence to adulthood. He graduated from Sacred Heart High School in Roseville, Michigan in 1967. He enjoyed some courses more than others, having favorite classes and teachers. His favorite class in high school was history. Herbert was a very logical person who enjoyed learning about factual information. Using his exceptional memory, he was able to learn much through observation. Herbert always seemed to have a command of the facts and was able to make it seem as though he could easily master any problem that might be presented to him.

College life brought with it a new set of challenges, but Herbert handled them well. Being a critical thinker who always remained intellectually independent, Herbert was able to focus on the task at hand in order to complete his class work. He seemed to thrive on college reading assignments, something that often bogged down his classmates. Herbert was able to read the material and retain the information in a way that impressed his fellow classmates. The ability to efficiently complete the task at hand was a skill that served Herbert well during his college experience. Herbert also earned his apprenticeship for industrial pipefitting sponsered by Chrysler May 6, 1976 - UAW in Detroit, Michigan, he earned his Associates in Applied Science for Industrial Water Treatment from San Juan College in 2001. . His favorite courses were literature and art. Using his pipefitting skills he made a copper pipe, 5 tier, candle holder using sodder as candle wax drippings for an art class project. It was chosen for display on campus for an art exhibit and is now his daughter's cherished possession.

Always considered to be a solid friend, Herbert was fortunate to have numerous acquaintances and several very close friends during his life. Since he disliked making generalizations about people and preferred to draw his own conclusions based on direct observation, Herbert was able to see beneath the surface of relationships and became a true friend to those who knew him. He was committed to his friends and valued the trust he placed in them. It was not uncommon for Herbert to go beyond the call of duty for others, and friends frequently sought him out for advice because he had a knack for coming up with practical solutions to any type of dilemma. While growing up, some of his best friends were Peter Mott, Jim Young who were called "The 3 Muskateers" by Herb's mom. Later in life, he became friends with Peter Mott and Jim Young who remain lifelong friends.

On May 2, 1970 Herbert exchanged wedding vows with Christine Anne Klimaszewski at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church of Roseville, Michigan. Compassionate and devoted to Christine, Herbert held endearing, traditional values about marriage and family life. He took the responsibility of marriage to heart, giving it his total commitment. He was a source of strength to Christine and using his gifts at nurturing one-on-one relationships, he worked hard to make his new family happy.

Herbert brought the same traditional values in his marriage to bear on how he raised his children. He was a good parent to them, always firm yet fair in his dealings. He would always listen carefully and think things through before he acted, even when it was an adverse situation. Herbert was also a walking schedule, always seeming to know what everyone in the family needed to do, where they needed to be and when they needed to be there. Herbert was blessed with 2 children, one son Eric Michael Payne and one daughter Jenny Marie Payne. They were also blessed with 2 grandchildren that are on their way! (His son Eric and his daughter-in-law Lindsay reveled to Herbert the names of his two first born grandchildren in his last days, he is the only one who knows their names). That is currently known only to Herb!

Herbert greatly enjoyed what he did for a living. He was a hard worker who expected the same in return from his co-workers. He was skilled at working effectively in small groups and in one-on-one situations as well as handling solo assignments efficiently. Herbert enjoyed dealing with concrete ideas and could penetrate any amount of fuzzy information to reach the essential facts. Always able to attend to the task at hand, Herbert was excellent at meeting deadlines. He was an efficient worker, one who paid careful attention to detail, allowing sufficient time to complete one task before moving on to the next. His primary occupation was industrial waste and pipefitter: ultra pure water technician at Intel in Chandler, AZ. He was employed for Chrysler in Michigan for 10 years, Rocky Flatts in Colorado for 7 years and Intel in Arizona for 22 years. Herbert worked hard to be a team player, doing what was necessary in order to get the job done.

Herbert liked to experience things first-hand as well as learn about them. This trait carried over into his hobbies, where he was very methodical in how he organized his activities and categorized things. Since he enjoyed his private time, Herbert always tried to allocate a specific time for working on his hobbies. His favorite pursuits were wood working, collecting old westerns and collecting coasters. Herbert was content to enjoy his hobbies alone but was also willing to share his interests with others.

Herbert found pleasure in sports. Being a person who was comfortable making win/lose decisions throughout life, he could appreciate that athletes made those types of decisions in sports. He applauded those who won, and he enjoyed the statistical data and sports facts and could find himself wrapped up in those details. Recreational sports included bowling, golf "weekender" and he rode his bike to work. He would watch his favorite sporting events whenever he got the opportunity. Tops on his list were baseball and college basketball.

Herbert was a man who was dedicated and devoted to his faith. He was a member of Corpus Christi Catholic Church for 22 years. He was a sympathetic man who valued his beliefs and was willing to work tirelessly for them.

Herbert enjoyed traveling and taking vacations. Since he was an early starter and had a knack for planning everything, traveling with Herbert appeared effortless. He enjoyed researching all of his examined options and applying cost-effective planning techniques. Plus, no matter where he traveled, Herbert always had a back up plan at the ready, just in case. Favorite vacations included traveling the Old Route 66 when he was 12 with his parents; traveling the coast of California; a 2 month trip across the US from Colorado to Michigan; and going to Kauai.

Herbert was a lover of animals and cherished his pets. One of Herbert’s favorites was Misty, a yorkie. They were best friends for 15 years. His family was rounded out by his love from his dogs.

Mr. Herbert V. Payne passed away on May 3, 2010 at Lund Hospice House in Gilbert, Arizona. Brain cancer. He is survived by his wife Christine; his children Eric and Jenny; his daughter-in-law Lindsay; both his parents; 5 brothers and 3 sisters; and 2 grandchildren that are on their way! Services were held at Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Phoenix, Arizona. Herbert was laid to rest in St. Francis Cemetery in Phoenix, Arizona.

Commitment is a key word that can be used to describe the life of Mr. Herbert V. Payne. He was committed to living the life of a good man who was both practical and trustworthy. He was committed to the traditional values that he upheld his entire life. He committed himself to being a hard worker who expected the same effort in return from those around him. Most of all, he was committed to those he knew and loved.