John L. Newton

John L. Newton John LeRoy Newton died Nov. 20, 2006, at the age of 68, following a courageous 15-year battle with multiple myeloma. Survived by his daughter Leigh; his son Craig; his mother Winona; brothers, Ron and Bob; several nieces and nephews; and his friend Patricia Lee Leicher. He was predeceased by his wife, Patricia Q. Newton; and his father, Jack Newton. John was born on October 1, 1938 in Caldwell, ID, and grew up farming the family homestead. Following high school graduation, John enlisted in the U.S. Navy. While serving as a hospital corpsman, John received a fleet-appointment to the United States Naval Academy and graduated in 1963. He took his commission in the Marine Corps, attained the rank of captain and always remained devoted to both the Naval Academy and the Marine Corps. Much of his career involved the marketing and finance of computer systems and business applications, first with IBM and then Itel Corporation. In 1978 John co-founded CIS Equipment Leasing and later a variety of entrepreneurial ventures involved in computer-aided telephony for the deaf, flight simulators and e-learning. John recently co-founded the First Responder Foundation. An athlete of remarkable skill and strength, John was a high school state champion wrestler and an All-American lacrosse defenseman on the national champion Navy team. Later an avid and formidable tennis and squash player John also loved coaching youth sports. Diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 1992, John became an authority on the disease and treatment options. He became a key figure in the Bay Area Multiple Myeloma Support Group and a mentor for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. He was devoted to his fellow patients. There will be a service to celebrate John's life at 2:00 PM Fri, Dec. 1, 2006 at Piedmont Community Church, 400 Highland Ave, Piedmont, CA. In lieu of flowers, the family prefers contributions to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, MMRF, 383 Main Ave, 5th flr, Norwalk, CT 06851, or on-line at multiplemyeloma.org