Kenneth Eugene Payne

Kenneth Eugene Payne passed away peacefully on February 15, 2023 at his home in Arlington, VA with his family by his side. Our sadness is tempered by the lasting memory of a devoted husband and loving father, father-in-law, grandfather and uncle.

Ken was born on January 12, 1936 in Kansas City, Kansas to Felton and Irene (Snyder) Payne. He attended Wyandotte High School in Kansas City where he met the love of his life and future wife, Deidre (Hood) Payne on a blind date. Ken graduated from University of Kansas in 1959 with a degree in Geological Engineering and went on to earn his Juris Doctor at American University in 1965.

After serving in the Army and several US government agencies, Ken spent the majority of his 33-year legal career with the law firm of Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett and Dunner in Washington, DC, specializing in Patent Litigation, Licensing, and International Trade. He proudly served as Managing Partner of the firm for many years. Ken was also very active in the Licensing Executive Society (LES) USA and Canada, the world’s largest organization for technology transfer, and was elected president in 1984. In 1989, he became president of LES International and was later awarded a gold medal for his advancement of intellectual property law and technology transfer internationally.

An avid traveler and geologist, Ken was most at home in the Rocky Mountains. He shared his love of hiking, skiing, fishing and the outdoors with his family always traveling with his rock hammer and filling up backpacks with “one more rock” to take back to Virginia. Ken and Deidre also shared a love of sailing and golf and were fortunate to play on golf courses on 6 continents.

Ken is survived by his devoted wife, Deidre. With 65 years of pulling out Deidre’s chair for dinner, Ken leaves behind a lasting legacy of love for his children and their spouses: Steven Payne and Holly Bastian, Kendra and John Burlingame, along with 2 grandchildren whom he adored: Kaley and Reilly. He is also survived by his niece, Carla Pestock, and his nephews, Ted Payne and Thomas Payne. He is preceded in death by his younger brother, Larry Payne.

A private family service will be held in Arlington, VA. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Ken’s memory to the American Heart Association (www.heart.org) or Alzheimer’s Association (www.alz.org).