Robert D. Payne

Robert D. Payne, DDS Died peacefully in Walnut Creek, CA, on December 28, 2006 at age 90 years. Bob was a longtime Arizona resident. He was born in Tempe, the third son of Frances and Ira Payne and had a happy childhood there with his two older brothers and younger sister. As a youth Robert and his family camped, hiked and explored the mountains of Arizona and the California Sierras. Bob attended and graduated from Arizona State College in Tempe where he met his future wife Leila Albrecht. He attended dental school at the University of California Berkeley, San Francisco campus, which would later become UCSF. In 1940 he received his DDS with specialty in orthodontics. Robert and Leila fell in love and married in 1941. Shortly after the wedding he shipped out as a United States Naval Officer to serve at Dutch Harbor, Alaska. He was there when war was declared in December 1941. After the war Bob and Leila returned to Arizona and raised five children while he practiced orthodontics in Phoenix. Bob and Leila also assisted in the rearing of three nieces and nephews. He loved showing his entire family the beauty and openness of the Arizona Mogollon Rim high country and grandeur of the Sonoran Desert. He especially enjoyed guiding them on hikes in the Superstition Mountain Wilderness area, as his father Ira had done before him. An accomplished pianist, Bob was happy and comfortable at the piano or at the dual keyboard of his much loved Hammond B3. He was an avid reader, enjoyed languages and amused family and friends with puns and word play. Always mechanical, Bob loved repairing and improving machines and gadgets of all types. He got a kick out of racing his modified roadster at the drag strip and working on sports cars and his pick up truck. Bob believed strongly in serving his family, friends and community. He loved being an orthodontist and the daily contact with his young patients. He gave his time freely to the Rotary Club, Boy Scouts, the Shriners, the Masons, and other service groups. He was always ready to help a friend or acquaintance in need. Bob's final service was to care for his ailing Leila during the final years of her life. He was a hero and mentor to his family and to those who loved him. Robert was preceded in death by his siblings Louise and Richard; his daughter Marjorie; and his wife Leila. He is survived by his older brother William; his children, Judy Dueker of Columbia, MO, Mary Payne of Fairfax, CA, Cathy Bartlett of Northampton, MA, and Robert Payne, Jr. of Oakland, CA. He is also survived by the nieces and nephew that he helped raise: Susan Albrecht Kennedy of Phoenix, John Albrecht, and Nancy Boivin O'Connor of Eugene, OR. The Payne family, including eight grandchildren, three great grandchildren, nieces and nephews will miss him. A private memorial service is planned. Please send any remembrances of Bob to The Payne Family, 3871 Piedmont Ave. #115, Oakland, CA 94611. Donations in Bob's memory may be made to Rotary International Foundation at www.rotary.org or to the Shriners Hospitals for Children.