Henry Payne III, 73, dies at home
07/05/08 Filed in:News
June 29, 2008
Local engineer Henry Payne III, 73, dies at home
By Alison Knezevich
Staff writer
Henry E. Payne III, a noted engineer and a founder of the State Journal newspaper, died Friday at his Charleston home after an extended illness. He was 73.
In 1959, Payne founded Payne Engineering in Princeton, N.J. The company pioneered the commercial application of solid-state controls, which monitor heat and speed of industrial machines. Today, the firm has plants in both Scott Depot and Palm Bay, Fla.
Payne was born in Highland Park, Ill., but lived there only briefly before his family moved to Charleston, said his wife, Connie Payne.
He received a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Yale University and a Master of Science degree in aeronautical engineering from Princeton University.
Payne was an avid vintage-race car driver. He often raced at major tracks with his son, Henry IV, a cartoonist with the Detroit News.
"I think as an engineer, [race car driving] was a challenge to him," Connie Payne said. "And also he was just a very talented, athletic man who was an excellent driver."
For years, Payne wrote a monthly column called "Tomorrow's World," which was published in The Charleston Gazette.
"He was always looking ahead, a man way ahead of his time in everything," his wife said.
He read voraciously in both English and German, she said.
Local engineer Henry Payne III, 73, dies at home
By Alison Knezevich
Staff writer
Henry E. Payne III, a noted engineer and a founder of the State Journal newspaper, died Friday at his Charleston home after an extended illness. He was 73.
In 1959, Payne founded Payne Engineering in Princeton, N.J. The company pioneered the commercial application of solid-state controls, which monitor heat and speed of industrial machines. Today, the firm has plants in both Scott Depot and Palm Bay, Fla.
Payne was born in Highland Park, Ill., but lived there only briefly before his family moved to Charleston, said his wife, Connie Payne.
He received a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Yale University and a Master of Science degree in aeronautical engineering from Princeton University.
Payne was an avid vintage-race car driver. He often raced at major tracks with his son, Henry IV, a cartoonist with the Detroit News.
"I think as an engineer, [race car driving] was a challenge to him," Connie Payne said. "And also he was just a very talented, athletic man who was an excellent driver."
For years, Payne wrote a monthly column called "Tomorrow's World," which was published in The Charleston Gazette.
"He was always looking ahead, a man way ahead of his time in everything," his wife said.
He read voraciously in both English and German, she said.
In
1984, Payne and his brother Robert founded the State
Journal.
"He was somewhat exasperated with the state business climate," said Dan Page, the paper's current editor and publisher. "They thought that West Virginia in the early '80s wasn't getting as much coverage of business issues."
Page remembered Payne as a devoted family man and a "deep thinker" who "wanted West Virginia to be better than it is."
Payne expressed skepticism about the role of humans in causing global warming and occasionally wrote columns and letters to the editor in the Gazette about energy issues. Last fall, he invited scientist S. Fred Singer - who believes climate change is not caused by humans - to speak in Charleston.
"He wanted the truth to be made known," Connie Payne said. "He knew so much and wanted it to be right scientifically. He just didn't want to go on emotions. He wanted to go on facts."
Payne is survived by his wife, Connie Payne; son, Henry E. Payne IV; daughter, Priscilla Carver Payne; brothers, Robert Carver Payne, Stephen Couch Payne and Christopher Randall Payne; and grandchildren Henry E. Payne V, Samuel Leland Payne, Constance Gerstle and Paul Michael Gerstle.
Arrangements are being handled by Barlow-Bonsall Funeral Home. Plans are pending for a memorial service.
Reach Alison Knezevich at 348-1240 or alis...@wvgazette.com
"He was somewhat exasperated with the state business climate," said Dan Page, the paper's current editor and publisher. "They thought that West Virginia in the early '80s wasn't getting as much coverage of business issues."
Page remembered Payne as a devoted family man and a "deep thinker" who "wanted West Virginia to be better than it is."
Payne expressed skepticism about the role of humans in causing global warming and occasionally wrote columns and letters to the editor in the Gazette about energy issues. Last fall, he invited scientist S. Fred Singer - who believes climate change is not caused by humans - to speak in Charleston.
"He wanted the truth to be made known," Connie Payne said. "He knew so much and wanted it to be right scientifically. He just didn't want to go on emotions. He wanted to go on facts."
Payne is survived by his wife, Connie Payne; son, Henry E. Payne IV; daughter, Priscilla Carver Payne; brothers, Robert Carver Payne, Stephen Couch Payne and Christopher Randall Payne; and grandchildren Henry E. Payne V, Samuel Leland Payne, Constance Gerstle and Paul Michael Gerstle.
Arrangements are being handled by Barlow-Bonsall Funeral Home. Plans are pending for a memorial service.
Reach Alison Knezevich at 348-1240 or alis...@wvgazette.com
