Father John Payne passed away on October 9. His memorial services were held today. Below is a retrospective on his life, courtesy of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts.

John Payne was an Augustinian Friar and a member of the Province of Saint Thomas of Villanova. John was a native Washingtonian and the youngest child of Ellis Augustine Payne and Gloria Bernice Thornton. John began his education at Abram Simon Elementary School. After completing the sixth grade he went on to Assumption and graduated from Archbishop John Carroll High School in 1979. From 1980-1984 he attended Villanova University majoring in English and Philosophy. From 1984-1987 he attended the Washington Theological Union and earned an M.A. in systematic theology.

From 1987-1996, John served as the Associate Pastor of Saint Augustine Church Roman Catholic Church, the Mother Church of African American Catholics in the Nation’s Capital. In this capacity he was the principal liturgist responsible for the enhancement of the internationally known music and liturgical traditions of the parish. He co-wrote several pieces of music with the renowned musician and songwriter Leon C. Roberts. He also directed all of the major liturgical events in the Church.

In 1995 he was approached by the Kellogg Foundation to be a Director in the National African American Male Collaboration. This project funded by the Kellogg Foundation and directed by the Village Foundation was designed to build systems of support for African American men and boys. In 1995 John became Director of the He Rose Project at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts. In this capacity he significantly reduced the number of suspensions and expulsions for African American young men. He helped to increase scholarship opportunities for young men of color and focused on raising college acceptance rates. He also developed the Ennis Cosby Learning Center, used by both parents and students. As Director of this project he also continued the school’s long tradition of a summer retreat for new students prior to the beginning of the school year. John not only changed the location of the retreat but also the focus and intent. Formerly held at a hotel in Harpers Ferry the retreat would shift to a four hundred acre camping facility in the Shenandoah Valley. The new focus that was developed was one of introspection, empowerment and concrete goal setting. During this period John was also involved in establishing a partnership between the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, the District of Columbia Public School System, the George Washington University and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

In 2000 John was named Dean of Students at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts. His primary areas of responsibility were student support services, student discipline and continuing to develop the climate and culture of the Ellington school. In this capacity he interacted with students, parents and staff on a daily basis, while ensuring a healthy and inclusive environment for all students. During this period Ellington maintained its impressive 98% graduation and 95% college acceptance rates. Working with the Ellington Fund, the private fundraising arm of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, John worked closely with the Kellogg Foundation, the Jenny Zoline Foundation, the Horwitz Family Foundation and the Harman Foundation to secure additional funding to maintain the integrity of Ellington’s dual curriculum.

In 2007 John was appointed Director of Student Affairs at Ellington. In this capacity he maintained his role as director of all support services and student discipline. He also took on the role of facilities manager. During his tenure John oversaw every major renovation to the historic R street campus. This included overseeing all of Mayor Fenty’s Buff and Scrub initiatives. He directed a complete overhaul of the dance and visual arts departments. He helped plan and execute a major renovation to the school’s dining facility and renovation of 75% of the classroom space. Under John’s leadership Ellington partnered with the Georgetown community to repair and enhance the Ellington Field and Gardens. Through it all and in his many roles his focus had always been on student achievement, creating safe and secure environments for all and ensuring that a pre-professional arts education was offered to students in the District who might not be able to receive it otherwise.

With the departure of Rory Pullens, the board of directors appointed John Head of School effective August 1, 2014. In this role he anticipated reconnecting with his great passion of reaching out to young people to help them achieve success. This involved a new commitment to recruiting of young people all across the city, but especially in wards 7 and 8.

As a classically trained artist, John had a deep love for all forms of artistic expression. He was especially inspired by the visual, written and dance art genres. He had a great sense of humor, was a voracious reader and loved to travel. His favorite cities were Washington, Havana, Rome and Key West. He resided with his cat Stella in the Petworth home his mother purchased when he was 13. Father Payne died on October 9, 2014 and will forever be remembered by the lives he touched.