Donald Josslyn Newman

On Wednesday, February 9, 2011 Donald Josslyn Newman went to be with his Lord at the age of 88. Donald is lovingly remembered by his wife, Elsie Newman, children Don (Nadine), Lori Nugara (Aubrey), Cheryl Barker (Bruce), Doug (Jane) and David (Marian). He will also be sadly missed by his grandchildren, Jude, Robbie, Jay (Tara), Dana (Jeremy), Kris (Katie), Megan (Chansa), Evan, Max and his great grandchildren Tova Josslyn, Elisha, Ben, Isaac, Joshua and Jadyn and by many nieces and nephews. Don was predeceased by his parents Albert and Florence, his two brothers Lydston and Ken and his two sisters Ethel and Genevieve.

Don was born the youngest of 5 children in Craigmyle, Alberta. He served in England in WWII and upon his return worked with Calgary Police Service and Calgary Transit before starting his 30 year career with GSL Chev City retiring as General Sales Manager. He was a faithful member of the Full Gospel Church serving as deacon and elder. His passions were his family, church, hunting, fishing and training Brittany Spaniels. In his 30 years of retirement he enjoyed golfing at the Elks Club and spent many pleasurable winters in Mesa, Arizona with Elsie.

A Memorial Service will be held at Southview Alliance Church, 1436 James McKevitt Rd SW, Calgary, on Monday, February 14, 2011 at 2:00 p.m.

If friends so desire, memorial donations may be made directly to the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, #150, 110 Quarry Park Blvd SE, Calgary, AB T2C 3G3.

Expressions of sympathy may be left for the family in the Guest Book section found adjacent to this obituary.




Eulogy by Doug Newman (Son)


Good Afternoon, my name is Doug Newman and I'm one of Don Newman's children. Dad asked if I would say a few words.

The Calgary Herald said:
NEWMAN, Donald Josslyn February 10, 1922 ~ February 9, 2011 On Wednesday, February 9, 2011 Donald Josslyn Newman went to be with his Lord at the age of 88. Donald is lovingly remembered by his wife, Elsie Newman, children Don (Nadine), Lori Nugara (Aubrey), Cheryl Barker (Bruce), Doug (Jane) and David (Marian). He will also be sadly missed by his grandchildren, Jude, Robbie, Jay (Tara), Dana (Jeremy), Kris (Katie), Megan (Chansa), Evan, Max and his great-grandchildren Tova Josslyn, Elisha, Ben, Isaac, Joshua and Jadyn and by many nieces and nephews. Don was predeceased by his parents Albert and Florence, his two brothers Lydston and Ken and his two sisters Ethel and Genevieve. Don was born the youngest of five children in Craigmyle, Alberta. He served in England in WWII and upon his return worked with Calgary Police Service and Calgary Transit before starting his thirty year career with GSL Chev City retiring as General Sales Manager. He was a faithful member of the Full Gospel Church serving as deacon and elder. His passions were his family, church, hunting, fishing and training Brittany Spaniels. In his thirty years of retirement he enjoyed golfing at the Elks Club and spent many pleasurable winters in Mesa with his beloved Elsie.

So that's who dad was according to the obituary but Don Newman was so much more to so many people based on the context that you knew him. For some he was the guy that worked at getting you a deal on a car and then remembered you when you came back for your next car.
Others saw him as a manager that demand a lot from those that worked for him but no more then he was willing to give himself. Still others saw Don Newman as a fiercely loyal friend or advocate. I could go on at length about what has been expressed to us as a family by so many people however I'm going to talk briefly about Dad and not Don Newman.

The other day, we kids got together and tried to piece together who dad was to each of us. Turns out that was quite an exercise. There was some laughing and some tears – mostly laughing.

Before I share what we came up with, I want to tell you how dad saw himself - A sinner saved by grace – no more but certainly no less. I believe he felt like the apostle Paul who said in I Timothy 1:15-16.

15. This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners"-and I am the worst of them all.
16. But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life.

Our word pictures for Dad included:

• A man of Integrity – his word meant something, his vow was absolute – when he vowed to God that he would never drink again – he meant it. Of course that only lasted some 57 years so we aren't really sure if he would have kept his word.
• Someone who prayed for us – with all of us kids heading off in different directions and different focuses we always knew that dad, and mom, were praying for us and by extension for the grand kids and great grand kids. During phone conversations with dad he would often remind us that he was praying for this or that about us. I believe that we, as a family, kept him busy praying but we all appreciated the covering that he offered up as the spiritual head and protector of our family.
• Never gave himself enough credit for his abilities – dad often spoke about his roots on the farm and never really saw himself as someone with something to offer. During his life he took on many challenges and conquered them one by one yet still didn't look to himself as the one accomplishing things. He told me and taught me on many occasions, that whatever he had it was by the grace of God and that I should never forget that. I want to pass that lesson on for all of us.
• Truth – he stood for truth, he expected truth and he sought truth.
• Tough – he was tough – many times described as a mans man but there is a common theme that came from each of us as we sat around talking.
- He was strong in character
- He was a tough guy – resilient – when GM went on strike a number of years ago he said we didn't have to worry because he could sell anything and make a living.

• Children were a Reflection of dad – this was a two way street – dad wanted to give us a good example so that we could grow and mature. He also expected that our conduct would be such that it would reflect favorably on him as a father.
• Strong convictions – there didn't seem to be any gray areas in dad's mind. Things were either black or white and if he believed in something, that was that.

• Larger than life presence – when dad was around it was hard to miss him. Ask any waitress that ever served him, he'd ask "Do you care who pays the bill ( and typically the waitress would reply - no)– then you pay it" he say laughing. He believe the scripture that instructed us that "whatever our hand finds to do, do it with all your might." Dad did it with all of his might. Friends, co-workers, acquaintances and family all knew when dad was in the room.
• Good left jab – perhaps I will leave that one alone. Did I mention he was tough?
• Fighter – dad was a fighter. When he started working with GSL Chev City he worked six days a week to make sure he would succeed and as a result every year that he sold cars he was a Premier Master Salesman for General Motors.

Did I mention six days a week – that was both a function of the age (no Sunday shopping) but he also was totally committed to being in church when the doors were open. Dad would fight for what he thought was right whether it was the popular or not. I remember coming home one evening and finding dad sitting in his recliner with a cast on his had. He was righting a wrong – did I mention he had a good left jab? He had a good right cross too.

• Teacher – not in a formal sense as he would tell you that he was uneducated. Dad taught by his experience, by his acquired knowledge and most importantly by his example. I remember many times finding dad on his knees praying or reading the bible – he was demonstrating to us kids what was really important in life. As a formal teacher we all heard dad say, "Do as I say not as I do" – perhaps not the best teaching model.
• Friend – turns out you can be a dad and be a friend. There was no question in any of our minds who the boss was but he was also our friend. The dictionary defines a friend as "a favored companion".
We always knew we were important to dad and I believe he would rather spend time with his family then anyone else.
• He always promised that he would give us something to cry about. "Stop your 'fill in the blank' or I'll give you something to cry about!" Well dad, you win, you really have given us something to cry about.

Now for the top three countdown that we kids will always remember about dad:

1. He was our protector – when you were with dad you were safe. There was nothing in the world that he couldn't protect you against, at least that's how we felt.

2. All his attributes have been handed down to us as a blueprint for our lives. He has left us with an amazing heritage and as Luke says - "When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required." Or if you prefer Spiderman movies "with great power comes great responsibility." Dad gave us what we needed to conquer our worlds. Don, Lori, Cheryl, Dave lets go conquer!

3. Finally - without question he passionately loved mom. Cheryl, our sister, reminded us the other day that every morning and every evening dad would give mom a kiss and tell her that he loved her. He loved all of us kids, grand kids and great grand kids BUT he loved mom!

Dad wasn't perfect but he was dad! – Thanks Dad