Edward Philip Newman

1945 - 2019

Edward Philip Newman

Edward Philip Newman, a former commodities broker in the soybean meal pit at the Chicago Board of Trade and longtime resident of Hinsdale, IL, and Naples, FL, died unexpectedly on Saturday, December 14. He was 74.

Ed was born in East Orange, NJ, to David and Doris (Stern) Newman on July 7, 1945, and moved to Chicago as an infant. He grew up on the South Side graduating from Hyde Park High School. He briefly attended UC Berkeley before transferring and graduating from Parsons College in Fairfield, Iowa, then earned a master's degree from Texas A&M in 1970.

He met his wife, Susan, while working at a small computer company in Dallas, Texas. They married in 1971 and returned to Chicago in 1973, where he joined his father, David, a longtime soybean oil trader, trading commodities at the Board of Trade. An excellent broker, he was in his element on the trading floor.

Ed was happiest spending time with his family and being useful to others: serving on boards of organizations he supported, leading mission trips, and tirelessly performing any task (large or small) to benefit his community and church outside Cape Town, South Africa, where he lived much of the year for the last decade.

He was unfailingly generous and was known for his personal integrity and loyalty, his penchant for hyperbole and his unique ability to talk endlessly on a wide variety of topics, the better to share his encyclopedic knowledge thoroughly and with nuance.

His daughters will remember him fondly in daily activities: enjoying ice cream and coffee in any season or temperature, appropriate use of the left lane in highway driving, composing a lengthy email, and creating (and endlessly stoking) a roaring fire whenever the opportunity presents.

He is survived by his daughters Caroline (Adam) Young of Fort Collins, CO, and Kate (Mark) Chittenden of Lafayette, CO, and four grandchildren, his sister Carol (Peter) Gluck of New York, NY, four nieces and nephews, seven grandnieces and nephews and his former wife, Susan of Downers Grove, IL.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Ed's honor can be made to his favorite organizations: Extreme Response International (www.extremeresponse.org), EncouragementLink/Metropolitan Hall (PO Box 11, Felch MI 49831), Living Hope (www.livinghope.co.za) and King of Kings Baptist Church (www.kingofkings.org.za). Memorial services will be held at a future date.