John Robert Payne

John Robert Payne – 1925 to 2022

Born in Salt lake City, UT he began his life. His father, Robert, passed away, from Rheumatic Fever, when he was only three years old. Thus, his mother, Helen, would raise him during the tumultuous economic times of the Great Depression. The era was not easy for anyone, but the two of them managed their way through, with John growing up, mainly, in Ogden UT.

He was not destined to remain in Utah for long. John possessed motivation, introduced initially by his mother, but substantially enhanced by the love of his life, eventually to be his wife of 71 years, Elizabeth.

John served in the military during World War II, spending time working on a fuel depot in New Guinea. Upon his discharge from the armed services, he attended and graduated from college. At that point, he decided on pursuing a career in medicine, attending Northwestern School of Medicine in Chicago, IL. This also coincided with him and Elizabeth beginning a family that would include four children, starting in Chicago, proceeding to San Francisco, finally culminating in Woodland, CA.

He practiced medicine from the 1950’s and never really stopped being a doctor all the way through his final days. It was who he came to be. He did retire from the day-to-day practice of medicine to pursue a life in rural Montana, raising cherries, and, then, living in various locales in the Pacific Northwest. Nevertheless, the physician in him never went away, initially pursuing a 15+-year career with the national Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Hospitals (JCAH), but always trying to remain conversant with the ever-changing and complex field of medicine.

He loved our mom more than anything else in the world. The two of them had a wonderful life together, raising a family, traveling and making friends. It was very hard for him when she passed, but he continued on enjoying life and family, as she would have wanted; reading books, watching movies and playing Scrabble.

We all loved Dad and will miss him dearly.

Please share memories and condolences with John's family on the Tribute Wall, located above.

Arrangements entrusted to Emmick Family Funeral Home & Cremation Services - West Seattle