Daniel Payne

Daniel Edwin Payne

03/20/1946-09/07/2025

In the early hours of Sunday, September 7, Dan passed away after his courageous battle with MS and bladder cancer.  

Throughout his month long stay in hospital, Dan was surrounded by the love of his family and many friends from both near and far.

Dan is survived by his beloved wife, Penny, their four children, Graham, Sarah (Matt), Geoffrey (Kari) and Russell (Laura). Dan was the proud grandfather of eight grandchildren, Kaylee, Keegan, Jayden, Zachary, Danielle, Finn, Tristan, Beau and three great grandchildren, Ciara, Liam, and Adelynn.

Born in Saint James, Dan spent his childhood there and developed a wide range of interests and talents.  He was both a musician and a pilot, and an ardent community member, coaching hockey, serving on committees and boards.  He was a longtime member on the board of directors with the Marine Museum of Manitoba.             

Dan was part of the vibrant 60s and 70s music scene in Winnipeg. He played in numerous bands and toured across Canada with a rock ‘n’ roll band in the mid 60s.  One of his fondest musical memories was playing bass in the group Mantae.  He also performed for several years in many of the local lounges before joining an eight-piece dance band.  In addition to performing, Dan was a prolific songwriter.

Above all, Dan was a devoted family man. He met Penny, while they were in high school.  Together they built a home on River Road in St Andrews, where they raised four children.  It was no surprise that Dan often played guitar and sang to his children, and years later to his grandchildren, especially during bathtime. 

Dan’s love of flying began as a young child, standing at the fence at Stevenson Field, watching aircraft take off and land. He did his flying training at the Winnipeg Flying Club where he eventually became Chief Flying Instructor. Later he joined Transport Canada and made many trips throughout western Canada and the Arctic.  In 1985 he was invited by a dear friend to participate in the New York to Paris Air Rally. The experience was one of his most cherished memories.  

After being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis Dan lost his commercial pilot license. Remarkably he became one of the first commercial pilots to earn his license back after such diagnosis. Throughout his struggle with MS, his neurologist became a close friend. Unfortunately, Dan later required quadruple bypass surgery and permanently lost his pilots privileges.

He returned to his other great passion-his love of music. Dan continued to perform professionally for many years and released an album of his children’s music.  In recent years, he recorded many of his original compositions with the help of a special friend. 

Dan will be extremely missed by all who knew and loved him.

In honour of his memory, donations can be made to the Marine Museum of Manitoba, Multiple Sclerosis Society, or Heart and Stroke Foundation.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Daniel Payne, please visit our floral store.