COL George Newman

December 14, 1920 - June 26, 2014

COLONEL GEORGE EDWARD NEWMAN, formally of Carlisle Ave. in Guntersville, passed away on Thursday, June 26, 2014 at Redstone Village, Huntersville, AL He was born December 14, 1920 at his Grandmother Cooley’s home in Birmingham, AL. He came to Guntersville when he was eight years old, riding the bus down Sand Mountain with his Mother, Lieu-Ellen, his Sister, Carolyn, and his little Brother “Banny”. They were joining his Father, W.D. Newman, who had just become the new principal of Marshall County High School (MCHS). For the rest of his life, no matter where his careers and travels took him, the Colonel considered Guntersville “HOME”! He always enjoyed telling stories of hunting and fishing, before the “lake came up”; caring for the family cow; working as a “soda jerk” at the Rexall downtown; and playing Wildcat football. He graduated from MCHS in 1938. He briefly attended Howard College in Birmingham, before going into the Army. He then received an appointment from US Senator Lister Hill to attend The United States Military Academy, at West Point, NY. He graduated June 1, 1943. Within a few hours of graduating, he was commissioned an Infantry 2nd LT, US Army, and married Barbara Woodward, his “Yankee Sweetheart”. In their 45 years of marriage they lived and traveled in many parts of the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East; and lovingly raised four children at the same time. Colonel Newman had a distinguished military career. He saw combat in World War II and Vietnam and served with the First Infantry Division in both wars. He also served in the First Calvary Division in Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. He was a graduate of the Command and General Staff College, Ft Leavenworth, KS; the Army War College, Carlisle, PA; and he earned a Master’s Degree in International Affairs from George Washington University, DC. He was awarded many medals throughout his career; including the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Legion of Merit, CIB, Soldier’s Medal, Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal(s) and others. After retiring from the US Army, he worked in the defense related field. He was a Vice President of AVCO, a division of Textron Corp in Saudia Arabia for a number of years, assisting the Saudi military with infrastructure improvements. He and his wife Barbara then settled in the Atlanta area, where he was Senior Vice President of Rand Corp. She passed away in 1989. Colonel Newman returned to Guntersville in the early 90’s with his second wife, Mary Lee Henry, his high school girl friend. From then on until his heath started failing him in 2012, he was an energetic worker and supporter of making Guntersville the best place to live! He served on the Board of Directors of the Guntersville Museum; Lake Guntersville Chamber of Commerce; No. Alabama Tourism Council and the Marshall County Republican Party. He was voted Guntersville “Citizen of the Year”. He was an active member of the Civitans, American Legion and VFW. He was proud to participate in the Honor Flight 2011. He enjoyed visiting with family and friends; watching Braves baseball, and logging 1-2 miles daily on the beautiful Guntersville Walking Trails. He is survived by his daughters: Jan Maxwell of Guntersville; Debbie Peebles of Warner Robbins, GA; Betsy Dalponte of Keizer, OR; and his sister, Carolyn Plemmons of Huntsville, formerly of Guntersville. Also seven grandchildren: Mark Maxwell (Sally) of Vienna, VA; Michael (Georgia) Maxwell of Hartland, WI; Stephanie (Eric) Haney of Evergreen, CO; Carrie (Scott) Messer of Cumming, GA; Liz (Steven) Walker of Warner Robbins, GA, Lisa (Josh) Emerson and Kelli (Tony) Lelack of Keizer, OR. Also his nephews Harvey (Belinda) Plemmons of Huntsville, Roderick Plemmons of Orlando, FL; Vann (Debbie) Newman and Mike (Kim) Newman, all of Guntersville; and Eileen Fine of NY; and 17 great grandchildren. He was preceded in death, most recently, by his son-in-law of 46 years, Michael Dal Ponte of Keizer, OR on June 21, 2014. Mike and Betsy lived with Col Newman in 2004-2005 while developing a new business on the East Coast. He was also preceded in death by his wife, Barbara; his son, George E. “Buck” Newman; his second wife Mary Lee; his brother, Ernest Vann “Banny” Newman, and his parents, W.D. and Lieu-Ellen Newman. His funeral will be Saturday, July 12, at 3:30pm at Church of the Epiphany, Guntersville. The Family will host a Reception at the church following the ceremony. All are invited. Colonel Newman will be buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery at a later date. The family suggests memorials to the Guntersville Museum, City of Guntersville Walking Trails or Church of the Epiphany.