Richard J. Payne Jr.

Love you big brother

Rick was much more than "Bad Boy Ricky Payne". Not saying he didn't earn his nickname, as Rick did not suffer fools gladly, and was a bartender's best friend when an obnoxious drunk needed to be escorted from the local bar. Rick read three newspapers everyday, and it served him well, as he could talk intelligently on many subjects, and wasn't afraid to offer an informed opinion. I knew Rick for as long as I can remember, as he was a great friend and co-worker of my brothers, Bruce and Mark,...

Having grown up in Terra Linda, the name Payne was familiar to me. Upon reading about Richard, I knew him as the older brother of Bill. Around 1965, Bill played in the pee-wee baseball league the same year as I did. I was on the Falcons and Bill played for the Robins, who beat us in the playoffs. I believe we pitched against each other in that game, and the Robins scored a run in the last inning to win 1-0. Alas, I was too young to know I should have been backing up the play at third base...