John Ayres Newman

John Ayres Newman&bb&John Ayres Newman, age 88, died Sunday evening, December 8, 2002 at his home in Darrington, WA.&pe&John was born in his grandfather's house on the University of Tennessee campus in Knoxville, TN on February 20, 1914. He spent much of his youth on the Newman family plantation, "Bloomfield", near Charlottesville, VA. He graduated from Virginia Military Institute with a degree in civil engineering in 1935 and went to work for the Tennessee Valley Authority redesigning bridges washed out by floods.&pe&In 1937, John became employed by the United States Geologic Society and spent the next two years drinking coconut milk and mapping the jungles of Puerto Rico. John then joined the army and served in World War II in England, France, Belgium and Germany. He was a part of Patton's Third Army and arrived with the Allied troops in the second wave of the Normandy Invasion. John left the army with the rank of major.&pe&After the war, while exploring in his seaplane (searching for waterfalls), John found a section of land just above Desolation Sound in British Columbia which struck his fancy. He purchased this 320 acre parcel known as "Fawn Bluff" in 1948 from a man in Scotland who had been deeded it by the Queen of England. This land encapsulated his dream to own a piece of the wilderness (grizzly bears and all), and some of John's happiest moments were spent on that property.&pe& On October 26, 1949, John married his wife, Jeanette Ridgeway Newman, and moved out West. He and Jeanette resided briefly in Ely, NV where John worked for Kennicot Mining. Since 1950, John and Jeanette have resided in Skagit County, WA, in Darrington and Anacortes. John and Jeanette celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary three years ago.&pe&John was a professional land surveyor who continued to do surveys even in his 80s. He always had a project going--restoring his 1945 Willys Jeep, building a Quonset hut, or just cutting firewood for the winter. He was active, healthy and strong up until the last six weeks of his life.&pe&John is survived by his wife, Jeanette and his six children, Nancy Newman, Linda Newman, Holly Newman, Douglas Newman, Dale Gubin, and Dawn Frederickson. He is also survived by his sister, Kathryn Newman of Little Rock, AR; as well as 14 grandchildren; one great-grandchild; a nephew and three nieces.&pe&A memorial service for John will be held on Tuesday, December 17th at 11:00 a.m. at the Methodist Church in Darrington.&pe&Memorials are suggested to Cascade Senior Center.