Dr. John "Jack" Payne, 77, passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family, Nov. 1, 2023, after a decade-long, courageous battle with renal cancer.
Jack was born in 1946, five minutes before his identical twin brother, Jim Payne. He grew up in Western Springs and was a Lyons Township High School graduate in 1964. Childhood summers were spent living at the family cottage in Three Lakes, Wis., where he joined the water ski team and performed the high jump on shoe skis - a very difficult feat.
Jack graduated from DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind., with his brother, Jim. They both pledged Sigma Chi Fraternity and were active members, striving to better the fraternity until Jack's final days. Jack met his wife, Pam, at the Alpha Phi house and they went on to enjoy 53 years of marriage. With little knowledge of the Spanish language, Jack attended medical school at The Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara School of Medicine in Guadalajara, Mexico. He was chief resident at Loyola University in Chicago and followed in his father's footsteps as an obstetrician/gynecologist at The La Grange Women's Clinic. He is estimated to have brought 7,000 babies into the world and counseled countless women in their journey to get pregnant. Later in his career, Jack provided leadership to the hospitals as the president of the medical staff at La Grange Hospital and served in an administrative role for Bolingbrook and Glen Oaks hospitals.
Jack is preceded in death by his parents, John and Ginny Payne; his son, William "Billy" Payne; his sister, Carole Knuti; and his nephew, Steven Payne.
He is survived by his wife, Pam; his daughters, Katie Payne (Adam) Wahrhaftig, Kristin Schlesinger and Jacqui (Jerrad) Payne; his siblings, Jim (Terrie) Payne, Nancy Moroz, Jeff (Claudia) Payne and Jay (Joanne) Payne; his grandchildren, Lilly and Jack Schlesinger and Graham, Cal and Reed Wahrhaftig; and many nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 12, at The Theatre of Western Springs, 4384 Hampton Ave. Hawaiian shirts requested, no black. Fins up.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made online to the Wounded Warrior Project at http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org.
Hallowell & James Funeral Home in Countryside handled the arrangements.
