Paul JJ Payack
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Paul's obituary
Paul Payack: The Construction
“Time is a sacred fabric; embellish it, trim it, but sunder it not.” -PJJP
It was almost twenty-four hours shy of the first full moon of 1950 when Paul and Peter Payack were born at All Souls Hospital in Morristown, New Jersey. Breaching the air on January 3rd at 6:12 pm, although Paul was the younger (by twelve whole minutes), he oft would claim that he was the better looking of the identical twins.
Paul and Peter were born to Florence Marcello Payack, a whipsmart school teacher, and Peter Paul Payack, a veteran of World War II, who participated in storming the beaches of Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge. Upon their birth, the twins joined their older sister, Bonnie Marie. Paul and Peter’s arrival to the family was then followed by that of their little sister, Christine Ann, five years later.
In grade school, both intelligent, charismatic and driven, young Paul and his brother created Geezers International. Giving the club the motto of “We try”, the Geezer’s organized activities, set up charity events, and received personalized correspondence from the offices of JFK and Queen Elizabeth.
During high school at Morris Catholic High in Denville, New Jersey, Paul served as school president. Paul and Peter also helmed Payack Place, their morning radio show. As a player on the school’s football team, Paul often claimed the feat that he once ran a marathon in full football gear.
Receiving a full-ride scholarship to Bucknell University, there Paul began his studies while also serving as the literary editor of the student newspaper, The Bucknellian. In 1971, he moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he would finish his bachelors in comparative literature and receive his CAGS at Harvard University, as well as serve as his class marshall.
Paul Payack: The Constructor
“In your light, we see.
In your light, we see light.
In your light, we see the Light.” -PJJP
When he was seven years old, Paul unceremoniously introduced himself to who was to be the love of his life, by throwing her hat out of a moving vehicle’s window. Millie’s grudge at the loss of her beloved bonnet would eventually soften. Paul and Millie were to marry at the Memorial Church at Harvard University on April 19, 1974. Together, they had two daughters: Rebecca Ashley Payack and Elisabeth Lauren Payack. Altogether, they were united for 54 years spent raising their children, grandchildren, moving across the country, and building a home centered on love and God’s grace.
Bekka and Elisabeth both enjoyed an extremely close relationship with Paul. Whether it involved him taking them on Sunday drives while listening to the Beatles, building them forts or play rooms, or touring universities around the country, Paul fastidiously supported his daughters’ dreams and interests. Each birthday, Paul wrote a poem encapsulating the essence of each daughter’s previous year. He instilled in his daughters the importance of Socratic questioning of the norms. Paul shared his love of literature, music, etymology, his Polish and Italian heritage, and his profound insights, which serve to shape not only his daughters, but also his grandchildren.
Coined as “Hoppa” by his first grandson, Paul was a proud grandfather to four grandchildren — two grandsons born to Elisabeth --Dorian Joseph Payack Manewitz and Isaiah James Payack Manewitz-- and two granddaughters born to Rebecca --Guadalupe Beatriz Roman-Payack and Lourdes Paz Roman-Payack. An endlessly present and patient Hoppa, Paul would play chess with Isaiah, make “birdseed milkshakes” (styled after Big Bird’s favorite treat) with Dorian, and closely follow the weather with Lupita. Dorian and Isaiah state that much of their values were shaped by late night conversations and collage sessions with Paul, where he discussed life, love, and family.
Paul Payack: The Professional
Although Paul studied liberal arts and majored in comparative literature, the trajectory of his profession led him into the high-tech world. Paul worked as an executive for three Fortune Five hundred companies, including holding the position of the Vice President of Global Communications at AC Nielsen. His career brought him to Japan, China, Norway, Brussels, France, and many other countries. Trish Terry Cabana, who worked with Paul for many years and across three companies, remembers, “Paul’s creativity and big picture planning were an inspiration to me, not to mention his kind and thoughtful management approach.” This along with his innovative approach to marketing made Paul “the best and most favorite boss I ever had.”
Paul paired his marketing prowess with his love of words, deeming himself the Wordman. For a time he helmed YourDictionary.com, before focusing his interests onto the Global Language Monitor (GLM). Due to his commentary on descriptive language and its ability to both shape and be shaped by the times, he was quoted/featured multiple times in each the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and many other publications. He also was featured on air and in print on programs across the world including BBC, CNN, NPR, and many other highly reputed sources. His work with GLM brought him to a meeting and the White House and the ability to meet then-president George W. Bush and also to receive personalized correspondence from Mrs and Mr. George Bush, Sr. His annual list of Words of the Year were printed and quoted across the globe, including being the featured topic of one Top Ten List on The Late Show with David Letterman.
Paul Payack: The Writer
“The central idea of writing is, of course, the idea. Ideas by their very nature are wispy sorts of things. This being so, you can’t grab an idea and do with it what you will. Rather the best can one hope for is to encapsulate the idea and preserve it for time immemorial (or the fleeting moment, whichever comes first) in some ethereal amber. We call this amber, language; the basic building block of which is, of course, the word.” -PJJP
Paul was an author. Over fifty-one years of writing, he penned twenty-nine books. His works were published in the esteemed literary magazines New Letters, The Paris Review, and Boulevard. His works can also be found within 100+ anthologies, journals, and collections. Sylvia Leah Berkman, a mentor he first came to know while studying at Harvard, deemed Paul, “a writer of great originality, seriousness, and imaginative zest, to the highest degree intellectually curious.” He felt that his works were best described as “metafiction”, or beyond fiction. This genre, metafiction, was the terminology that Contemporary Authors used to describe his writing, though The Paris Review called his works “prose poems” and The Kansas City Star deemed them “polyphonic prose”. Additionally, a significant portion of Paul’s creative works are in the form of collages, including several published collage narratives. His books and manuscripts will be housed in the Special Collections of Bucknell University.
Paul Payack: With Love, Forevermore
“A tiny sphere a-spinning,
no different from the rest.
In a Heaven full of Heavens:
A mote, a speck, at best.
A tiny planet spinning in the void of space and time,
a still-ness ‘midst the chaos,
a touch of the sublime.”
-PJJP
Paul Payack, 75, passed away peacefully on January 23, 2025 at his home in Austin, Texas. He is survived by his wife, Millie; his twin brother Peter and sisters Bonnie and Christine, his daughters, Rebecca (Bekka) and her husband, Harry, and Elisabeth and her husband, TJ: and his beloved grandchildren, Dorian, Isaiah, Lupita, and Lola. Paul is also survived by Peter’s wife Monica, and his nephews: Michael and his wife Laura, and their children Rowan and Natalie; Peter Paul and his wife, Brianna. Bonnie’s husband and fellow Bucknell alum, Harry Kipperman, and their children: Rachel, her daughter, Emma; and their son, Alex, his wife Lirui and their children, Hendrix and Beatrix. Survivors also include his sister-in-law, Marilyn Dolan, her family: John, Maureen, and Lindsay. Dr. Louis Lorenzo and his wife, Francine, and their respective families. He was predeceased by his parents, Florence and Peter Payack, and by his brother-in-laws, John Dolan, Sr. and Joseph Lorenzo.
In lieu of flowers, the family kindly asks for donations to help offset Paul's outstanding medical expenses. Contributions can be made via Venmo to @Paul-JJ-Payack.
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