Mr. Kenneth McLellan “Kenny” Newton beloved husband, father, and friend passed peacefully in Glasgow, Montana at the age of 100.
Kenny was born on November 30, 1923, in Hobson, Montana to William “Bill” Newton and Annie McLellan Newton. In June 1935, Kenny, his mother and brother Dean would move to join their father in Glasgow, Montana. His father purchased a car dealership in Glasgow where he sold Hudson-Terraplanes during the Fort Peck Dam construction boom. Kenny would go on to graduate from Glasgow High School in 1941 and shortly after married Shirley Elliott, his high school sweetheart in Elizabethtown, Kentucky as Kenny was serving in the United States Army.
Kenny served in the U.S. Army during World War II. His Army training at Camp Atturbury in Indiana began auspiciously when he met fellow barracks-mate, Mel Mellinger. The two became fast friends and bonded over their mutual faith. The friendship would prove to serve them both well during their deployment in the Eastern theater as part of the 143rd Infantry Regiment.
Not long after their arrival in Europe in December 1944, Kenny and Mel would be captured along with other Allied Forces during the Battle of the Bulge. They would spend the next couple months in a Nazi prison camp north of Dresden, Germany. The pair would eventually decide they would rather risk their lives trying to escape than die under the brutal conditions at the camp. The pair did indeed escape and spent several days making their way across the countryside trying to reconnect with the Allies. While hiding in a barn loft on an old German homestead the pair would be recaptured and imprisoned in a nearby city. Soon after their second imprisonment, they would be force marched away from the advancing Russian forces. On this march, Kenny and Mel would be separated. Kenny managed to escape a second time and make his way to a Red Cross station and eventually to hospitals in Paris and New York to treat his injuries. The two friends would eventually reunite back in the States and remained the closest of friends until Mel’s passing.
Kenny would return to his family in the Summer of 1945. He reunited with his bride, Shirley, and their little girl Carole. Kenny and Shirley would go on to have six children: Terry, Tim, Ted, Lorie, and Lisa, over the course of their sixty-six-year marriage. Shirley would pass in April 2009. Kenny had a granite bench made and placed at Highland Cemetery. For years following her passing, Kenny would visit with Shirley giving updates on the “goings-on”, the business, and their family. He would often end those visits by telling her he loved her and joking he would see her just as soon as God was done with him.
Not long after the war, Kenny began to ply his trade in the same way his Father had done. Kenny Newton was by many accounts a natural-born salesman. His charisma, business savvy, and fortitude would lead him to start Newton Motor’s Inc. in 1950 in Glasgow, MT. It was not uncommon for Kenny to wake up early and park a new vehicle in an unsuspecting customer’s driveway and then call them to ask if their wife liked the color. On more than one occasion his tactics would prove successful. Kenny would continue to “work the phones” well into his eighties. He also delighted working side-by-side with his sons Terry and Ted at the dealership along with Tim’s help and guidance at the bank.
Kenny’s passion for service continued in his community long after he left the military. He served in numerous local organizations including Shriners, a seventy-one-year member of the Elks Lodge No. 1922, a seventy-year member as a Mason at North Star Lodge #46 and a seventy-eight-year member of American Legion Auxiliary Unit 41. Never one to rest on his laurels, Kenny would spend much of his free time tinkering in his garage building birdhouses, gardening or taking care of the landscape around the home he and Shirley had made overlooking the Milk River valley. He was a faithful man and was an active member of the Glasgow Congregational Church and subsequently the Glasgow Lutheran and Glasgow Evangelical churches.
He was a man of faith and a servant to those around him. If ever someone needed a helping hand, he would reach out with both. Through his traumatic and miraculous experience during his military service, to his forty-one years of sobriety, to his sudden blindness early in 2002, Kenny learned to see the positive in even the bleakest circumstances and to strive to walk alongside those who may have stumbled.
Kenny is preceded in death by his Mother and Father, brother Dean Newton, sisters Donna (Frank) Lacina and Elaine (Gene) Etchart. He is survived by his children; Carole Appling, Terry Newton, Tim (Karen) Newton, Kenneth L. “Ted” (Karen) Newton, Lorie (Bob Sachs) Newton and Lisa (Andy) McCormick; grandchildren, Cindy (Scott) Marquart, Douglas (Katie) Hegglin, Suzy (Dave) Brown, Amy (Todd) Aune, Juli (Cody) Cornwell, Bill (Arron) Franzen, Andy Newton, Dyan (Ben) Garcia, Ross (Asha) Franzen, Shawn Newton, Jackson McCormick and Clay McCormick; great-grandchildren Chris (Allie) Marquart, Tom (Rachel) Marquart, Jake (Kelsey) Newton, Charlie Cornwell, J.P. Cornwell, Jack Cornwell, Tee Aune, Demi (Keelan) Aune Taber, Tel Aune, Daley Aune, Brooke Franzen, Jayden Franzen, Zoey Garcia, Colton Garcia, Dakota Franzen and Beau Franzen; as well as nieces and nephews; Michelle (Steve) Page, Joe (Pat) Etchart, Mike Newton, Todd Newton, Kathy Lacina, Sharon (Greg) Lacina Pool, Janeen (Tom) McCarvel, Jackie Fredrickson and numerous great-great grandchildren. He loved and was incredibly proud of them all.
All are welcome to attend and celebrate Kenny’s life. Funeral services will be held Saturday, March 30, at 11:00 AM at the Glasgow Methodist Church, with a reception to follow at the Glasgow Elks Lodge. There will be a viewing at Bell Mortuary Friday, March 29 from 5:00 to 7:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to a charity of your choosing. Condolences can be sent to Bell Mortuary 701 2nd Ave. South, Glasgow, Montana.
Service Schedule
Visitation
5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Friday March 29, 2024
Bell Mortuary
701 Second Avenue South
Glasgow, Montana 59230
Funeral Service
11:00 a.m.
Saturday March 30, 2024
First United Methodist Church
500 1st Avenue North
Glasgow, Montana 59230
Burial with Military Honors
12:00 p.m.
Saturday March 30, 2024
Highland Cemetery
Highland Drive
Glasgow, Montana 59230
Reception
1:00 p.m.
Saturday March 30, 2024
Elk's Lodge
309 Second Avenue South
Glasgow, Montana 59230
Service Schedule
Visitation
5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Friday March 29, 2024
Bell Mortuary
701 Second Avenue South
Glasgow, Montana 59230
Funeral Service
11:00 a.m.
Saturday March 30, 2024
First United Methodist Church
500 1st Avenue North
Glasgow, Montana 59230
Burial with Military Honors
12:00 p.m.
Saturday March 30, 2024
Highland Cemetery
Highland Drive
Glasgow, Montana 59230
Reception
1:00 p.m.
Saturday March 30, 2024
Elk's Lodge
309 Second Avenue South
Glasgow, Montana 59230
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Ken Rauch says
KENNY NEWTON WAS A TRUE FRIEND AND BUSINESS ASSOCIATE. HE WAS A TRUE SALESMAN AND TOOK CARE OF CUSTOMERS . HE
WAS A MAN OF HIS WORD, AND WOULD GO OUT OF HIS WAY TO HELP YOU . I GOT TO KNOW KENNY BACK IN THE 70’S AND WORKED
WITH HIM ON SEVERAL DEALS OVER THE YEARS. IT WAS ALWAYS CHALLENGING DEALING WITH KENNY………I DON’T THINK EITHER
ONE OF US EVER GOT THE BETTER OF THE OTHER. GREAT MEMORIES WILL NOT BE FORGOTTEN. REST IN PEACE DEAR FRIEND!
KEN RAUCH – BILLINGS, MONTANA
Donna Dascher says
Carol, Terry, Tim, Ted, Lorie, Lisa and families,
Oh Kenny! How you will be missed with your quick wit and great sense of humor! I’d have to remind your dad every time I saw him that I was Donna Elletson, Lorie’s friend. He’d say “yeah, yeah, that’s right, that’s right.” I’m so honored to have known your Mom and Dad and your family for so many years. I always loved going up to your house, not just because we got to drive all the different vehicles off the lot or swim in the pool, but I got to know your folks and your family so well.
How blessed that he lived to be 100 years old! I remember when his sight started to diminish, but it didn’t diminish him. He just kept on goin! I’m gonna miss ya Kenny, and so is so many other family and friends. See ya on the streets of Gold next time!
Donna Elletson, Lorie’s friend! and Gary Dascher
Mitch Tihista says
Newton Family,
My dad, Mitch Tihista was a real good friend of Kenny’s for years, and worked for him also for a time in parts in the early days. Dad has recalled some pretty good stories about the road trips back to Glasgow in some International trucks without AC in 100 degree summer heat, lots of hard work and fun too. Losing his site didn’t slow Kenny down at all, and took everything on as only he could. Kenny will be missed by many, may the stories and memories live on. Mitch Tihista and girls
Stephen L Grobel says
Kenny was a member of Glasgow’s Volunteer Fire Department. In the spring, 1962, there was a fire drill at the old High School. Kenny was one of the responders. I was standing with a group of young boys. I knew who Mr. Newton was but I am not sure he knew who I was because my family had not been in Glasgow long. He walked over to the group, smiled in his big way and shared words of encouragement. He took time to talk to us. To him, we mattered. Each of us felt 10 feet tall. I often think of that simple yet powerful life experience. He set an example for us to carry forward. Kenny was a wonderful, wonderful, man and I am eternally grateful for having known him.
Marysue Davis says
I remember buying a 1988 Cadillac from him in 1992. Real pleasant guy.
Jeanne Liebelt says
Terry, Tim, Ted and family, I want to extend my condolences in the passing of your Father. Reading about your Father’s history, you all must be so proud. He was a very kind, thoughtful person to me, as I am sure to everyone he came in contact with. I am happy you all will have the special memories that will keep continue to keep him close.
Ann Leslie Hanson says
My family’s relationship with the Newton family spans more than eighty years. My father, Leslie Hanson, took Kenny under his wing at an early age and their friendship and love for each other grew over the decades. One of the fondest memories I have of Kenny is his nightly visits with my dad during the last years of dad’s life. I witnessed Kenny’s love and character as he’d march into my ‘old’ home about 7 PM several times a week carrying at least two milkshakes. At this time, my dad had trouble speaking and eating. Kenny would sit with him and help him drink/sip the shake and wipe his chin when the drips occurred. Unconditional love. Dear Shirley was a treasure, too. As are all the Newton children. May you all know I adore you.
MAC PETRY says
100 years through trials and tribulations is a wonderful life. I worked in the shop for Kenny in the early 70’s. It was quite an experience for a young man off the farm. I remember the auctions and getting ready for them, what a whirlwind. I might have had a drink or two with Ted back then. Always got along good with Terry. I talked to Tim in Lake Havasu a couple of years ago. My condolences to all the family.
Mac Petry
Bismarck
Leah Erickson says
Kenny Newton was a very special person who will be greatly missed. He lived a well meaning life and was an inspiration on how to be a good human being. His life was unique and he survived so much over the years always rising to the challenges and lending helping hands to others.
Thank you for your example.
Leah & Lynn Erickson
Laura Wagner says
Kenny was a wonderful man and I know he was a good friend to my sister in law, Mary Margarette Hanson. He showed many people his kindness and good humor.