Deceased February 6, 2012

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In Memory

We are extremely sorry to report the death of our class president, the Hon. Francis C. Newton Jr., who died Feb. 6, 2012.

Born in Boston on Oct. 25, 1925, he was the son of the late Francis C. and Helen (Prentiss) Newton. Raised in Brookline and Newton Centre, Mass., he attended Newton High School and Deerfield Academy. He entered Amherst in 1943, left to complete a tour in World War II in Europe and returned to Amherst in September 1946 to complete his degree. After Amherst, he graduated from Boston University School of Law in 1952. A U.S. Army combat Infantryman in World War II, with the 99th Division, 535th AAA Regiment, he fought during the Battle of the Bulge, crossed the Remagen Bridge into Germany while under fire, arrived at Dachau Concentration Camp on the day it was liberated and served as an alternate guard at the Nuremberg War Trials. He retired after a 30-year career in the U.S. Army; the Massachusetts Army National Guard, which he served as a brigadier general; and the U.S. Army Reserve, in which he was a colonel. He was trial counsel at Power and Hall from 1952 to 1964, a private practitioner from 1964 to 1996 and an administrative law judge in the Social Security Administration from 1996 until his retirement in 2011.

After Amherst, he continued his love for the college, and I (Jerry) and wife Flo were privileged to accompany him and Liz to a Homecoming game and sit in the rain when we beat Wesleyan. He always wanted to get to the college in time to listen to the coaches’ feeling for the pending game.

Fran was predeceased by his wife, Elizabeth, and his brother, Alan.

He is survived by son Francis III ’75 and his wife, Susan; son James and his wife, Jane; brother Robert ’50; brother Thomas; sister-in-law Terry; and grandchildren Christine, Richard, Matthew, Jeffrey and John Newton. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews.

—Jerry Halterman ’47

—Bob Newton ’50