By Staff
Lt. Col. Peter Jack Newton, Sr., U.S. Army Retired, 92, died Friday, Dec. 19, 2008.
Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Monday at Boykin United Methodist Church in the Newtonville Community. Burial will follow in Newton Cemetery on S.C. Highway 385 North. Visitation will be from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at the McDougald Funeral Home and Crematorium in Laurinburg. A memorial service will be held Jan. 3 in Plymouth.
Born July 8, 1916, in Marlboro County, S.C., he was a son of the late Robert Lee (Bob) and Esther N. Newton.
He began his education in Boykin and graduated from Fletcher Memorial High school in 1933. He received his bachelors degree from Wofford College in 1937 and was employed with International Paper in Georgetown, S.C., where he became chief analyst in the chemistry department. While there he met Alice Ethell Rogers and married her on Nov. 22, 1939. They were married for 56 years, until her death Feb. 20, 1996.
He was called into service with the US Army in February 1941 with the 367th Infantry at Camp Claiborne, La. and was later assigned to the Infantry School at Ft. Benning, Ga. There he assisted in organizing the Officer Candidate School, under General Omar Bradley. He was later assigned to the 78th Infantry Division at Camp Butner in Durham, and served overseas in the Eastern Theatre of Operations in France, Belgium, and Germany. He was wounded the last time on March 13, 1945, shortly after assisting in securing the famous Remagen Bridge for the crossing of the Rhine River by the allied armies.
He was retired as a Lt. Colonel at the age of 30 on June 30, 1947, for wounds received in action. His medals include the Bronze star with oak leaf cluster, the Purple Heart with oak leaf cluster, and the Combat Infantry Badge.
He then returned home to his wife Ethell, his children and aging mother where he readjusted and farmed until his retirement in 1983.
He was a devoted lifetime member of Boykin United Methodist Church. He also activated the Marlboro County Young Adult Fellowship, was a member of the McColl High School Board of Trustees, American Legion, Farm Bureau, and Young Farmers Association, where he was a co-founder and President.
On Jan. 3, 1998 he married Virginia Murl Gibson McQueen. They attended Plymouth Church of the Nazarene.
In addition to his wife, Murl, he is survived by his sons, Peter J. Newton, Jr. of Wake Forest and Donald A. Newton of Bennetsville, S.C.; daughters, Lynn Grady of Charlotte, Ronna Mathis of McColl, S.C., and Patricia Holtzclaw of Liberty, S.C.; 12 grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren, 3 stepchildren, and 8 step-grandchildren. In addition to his first wife, he was predeceased by four sisters, four brothers, one stepsister, and four stepbrothers.
Memorials are requested for Newton Cemetery Association, c/o Mary K. Newton, 2185 Highway S.C. 385 North, McColl, SC 29570 or Community Home Care and Hospice, 107 West Blvd., Williamston, NC 27892.
A memorial register is at: www.McDougald.com