Obituary for Jon Robert Payne
Jon Robert Payne, 48, died June 20, 2023. Funeral services will begin at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, June 27, 2023 at the First United Methodist Church in Stillwater with a reception immediately following. Burial will follow in Fairlawn Cemetery. Strode Funeral Home and Cremation is in charge of the arrangements.
Jon was born March 11, 1975 in Normal, Illinois, seven minutes after his twin sister Kristi, to Ronald Glenn and Karel Kay (Humphrey) Payne. Jon spent the first five years of his life in Illinois before moving to his parents' home state of Oklahoma where his father took a job at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater.
Jon grew up playing baseball and soccer. He was a die-hard OSU Cowboys and Chicago Cubs fan, taking after his father Ron, who instilled his love of the teams into his children.
Jon played varsity soccer at Stillwater High School where he graduated in 1993. From there, he went to Oklahoma State University and received his degree in marketing. At OSU, he was a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity, where he met some of his closest and lifelong friends.
Upon graduation, Jon and his friend, James, decided they needed a change in scenery, and so they moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he enjoyed ice fishing, climbing frozen waterfalls and playing hockey on the frozen lakes.
Even though he moved to Minneapolis because he wanted to live in a place with a professional hockey team, he never stopped loving the Chicago Blackhawks, which he saw win the Stanley Cup three times in his lifetime. While in Minnesota, Jon developed a love for photography, taking after his dad, and he was especially proud of his still life portraits.
He lived in Minneapolis for nearly 20 years before returning to Oklahoma upon the death of his father in 2018. He settled in Tulsa where he worked at Sun and Ski to stay close to his love for winter sports. There, he adopted a cat, Gypsy aka Beans aka Kitters, with his longtime girlfriend, Rebekah.
One of Jon's goals in life was to visit every Major League Baseball ballpark and was over halfway finished.
Jon was preceded in death by his grandparents Nina and Vergil Payne of Cheyenne; his papa Jack Humphrey of Cordell; his brother Ronnie Payne of Woodward; and his father, whom he adored, Ron Payne of Stillwater.
He is survived by his mother Karel Payne of Stillwater; his sister Renae (Payne) and husband Mike Bagzis of Cheyenne; his twin sister Kristi (Payne) and husband Ran Leonard of Oklahoma City; his great-grandmother Alice Humphrey Boothe of Cordell; and his longtime girlfriend Rebekah Crain of Broken Arrow; his nieces and nephews, Kayla and Billy Hodges, Kayla and Mark Hindman, Tisha and Travis Brecheen, Sgt. Kyle Bagzis, Payton Leonard, and Karoline Leonard.
Jon had a great love for animals, and was especially fond of cats. The family requests that those wishing to honor Jon's memory do so by donating to Tiny Paws Kitten Rescue, 901 S. Lowry St, Stillwater, OK 74074.
Jon was born March 11, 1975 in Normal, Illinois, seven minutes after his twin sister Kristi, to Ronald Glenn and Karel Kay (Humphrey) Payne. Jon spent the first five years of his life in Illinois before moving to his parents' home state of Oklahoma where his father took a job at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater.
Jon grew up playing baseball and soccer. He was a die-hard OSU Cowboys and Chicago Cubs fan, taking after his father Ron, who instilled his love of the teams into his children.
Jon played varsity soccer at Stillwater High School where he graduated in 1993. From there, he went to Oklahoma State University and received his degree in marketing. At OSU, he was a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity, where he met some of his closest and lifelong friends.
Upon graduation, Jon and his friend, James, decided they needed a change in scenery, and so they moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he enjoyed ice fishing, climbing frozen waterfalls and playing hockey on the frozen lakes.
Even though he moved to Minneapolis because he wanted to live in a place with a professional hockey team, he never stopped loving the Chicago Blackhawks, which he saw win the Stanley Cup three times in his lifetime. While in Minnesota, Jon developed a love for photography, taking after his dad, and he was especially proud of his still life portraits.
He lived in Minneapolis for nearly 20 years before returning to Oklahoma upon the death of his father in 2018. He settled in Tulsa where he worked at Sun and Ski to stay close to his love for winter sports. There, he adopted a cat, Gypsy aka Beans aka Kitters, with his longtime girlfriend, Rebekah.
One of Jon's goals in life was to visit every Major League Baseball ballpark and was over halfway finished.
Jon was preceded in death by his grandparents Nina and Vergil Payne of Cheyenne; his papa Jack Humphrey of Cordell; his brother Ronnie Payne of Woodward; and his father, whom he adored, Ron Payne of Stillwater.
He is survived by his mother Karel Payne of Stillwater; his sister Renae (Payne) and husband Mike Bagzis of Cheyenne; his twin sister Kristi (Payne) and husband Ran Leonard of Oklahoma City; his great-grandmother Alice Humphrey Boothe of Cordell; and his longtime girlfriend Rebekah Crain of Broken Arrow; his nieces and nephews, Kayla and Billy Hodges, Kayla and Mark Hindman, Tisha and Travis Brecheen, Sgt. Kyle Bagzis, Payton Leonard, and Karoline Leonard.
Jon had a great love for animals, and was especially fond of cats. The family requests that those wishing to honor Jon's memory do so by donating to Tiny Paws Kitten Rescue, 901 S. Lowry St, Stillwater, OK 74074.