A funeral service will take place next Wednesday for New Jersey congressman Donald Payne, who died this week after a brief battle with cancer, a law-enforcement source tells NBC New York.
Payne died early Tuesday of colon cancer. He was 77.
Payne was the first black congressman to represent New Jersey, and at one point chaired the House foreign relations Africa and human rights subcommittee.
He is a former chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus and served New Jersey's 10th congressional district, which includes most of Newark, parts of Jersey City and Elizabeth and some suburban areas in Essex and Union counties.
Payne had been a congressional delegate to the United Nations. He also was a member of the Newark City Council from 1982 until 1988 and was a teacher in Newark for 15 years. He also served as president of the national YMCA. He earned a bachelor's degree from Seton Hall University in 1957.
The public will have an opportunity to pay their respects to Payne Monday afternoon through Tuesday morning at the Essex County Courthouse. He was first elected to Congress in 1988.
