Wednesday, December 15, 2010

A Tribute To Don Payne

Simply put, here is the link, in tribute to Don Payne:

http://hosting-tributes-24789.tributes.com/show/William--Payne-90225928

...and this link for condolences, please:

http://hosting-tributes-24789.tributes.com/condolences/view_memories/90225928




PLEASE READ THE WARM, LOVING COMMENTS ADDED BELOW....

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)
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2 comments:

  1.  December 30, 2010 at 7:14 AM

    Comments of former KAAY associates of Don's, from his tribute site:

    "To Don's Family & Friends...

    Sincere thoughts & prayers to you all. Don was an excellent "Radio Guy", and one of best that I've come in contact with.

    He e-mailed me a number of times about the old days at KAAY/Little Rock and it was always good to hear from him and share stories.

    May your memories mirror his life: Good, Warm, Professional, and, a very caring person.

    With sincere sympathy,

    Jonnie King"


    "As we all celebrate the life of Don Payne, I'd like to share a few of my memories. Back in the seventies, I was hosting Beaker Street at the KAAY transmitter in Wrightsville when I heard a knock at the door one night. It was Don and his friend Les Moore asking for a tour. Don said he would love to work there someday and he was determined to. In fact, Don did the last Beaker Street show on KAAY.

    A little over a year later, I was hired to program KLPQ-FM, KAAY's FM and my first hire was Don Payne for afternoon drive, He was such a natural talent. When he turned the mic on, he delivered great radio!

    Several years later, I was offered a programming position in Lafayette with WXUS, Lafayette's US 93. Don Payne and Bob Majersky moved from Little Rock to join the new station. Again, Don was the afternoon talent and he had great ratings! In his first book, he beat WAZY, where he later went on to work. While he was at WXUS in Lafayette, he also started getting into broadcast engineering, which he also had a second passion for. Our little class A FM had the best sound in the market thanks to Don!

    Having hired Don three times, I can proudly say he was not only a great employee but also a very special friend. In recent years, we've had some good talks about video and his video work with Radio One. He was always up for learning something new.

    Michele, I am so sorry for your loss but I think it's so wonderful that you maried Don. The fact that Don found a woman that he wanted to marry says a lot about how imporant and special you are! Thanks for being there for Don! He will be missed but never forgotten!

    Stuart McRae"


    More to follow....

    ReplyDelete
  2.  December 30, 2010 at 7:17 AM

    ...continued tributes:

    "I extend my deepest condolences to the family of Don Payne. I'm so sorry to hear of Don's passing. I worked in Little Rock, Arkansas as Continuity Director and midday personality of KAAY and KLPQ/KQ94 in 1978 for two years. When I finished my midday shift at 3pm on KQ94, Don followed me with his afternoon drive show. We had the best conversations between airshifts. He never failed to make me laugh uproariously! As continuity director, any time I had a commercial requiring a booming male voice Don was the man! Later, I took an on-air job at a station in Atlanta and lost contact with Don. After all that time, I just reconnected with him on facebook earlier this year. I went to his facebook page today to wish him a happy birthday and was absolutely shocked to see his obituary. I couldn't believe it!

    I know that all of you in his family, who loved him dearly, most certainly feel a void. May you be blessed with peace of mind and strength of heart during this sorrowful time.

    Sincerely,
    Harriet Coffey"


    "I worked with Don in Little Rock back in the 70's at KAAY/KLPQ. I'm originally from Indy (Carmel H.S. 1973), so when my mom was alive, we'd get to see Don on visits to Indy. Sadly, we haven't seen him since mom passed in '96.

    I just wanted to send my best wishes. Don was a sweet guy and my memories of him all ALL good. We had a blast.

    Mark Larsen"

    ...and my own comments:

    "Don was a dear man, always having something nice to say. Even in his fight, he was upbeat and a lifter of heads, an encourager. Heaven is richer, now, for Don's presence there.

    Don worked at KAAY years ago; I was an avid listener. Knowing Don has been a delight, especially since we had a common bond in several ways.

    God bless you, Payne family; you will be in my prayers.

    Rest well, Don. See you later....

    Bud Stacey"

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