Douglas Edwin Newton, Sr.

SOUTHWICK - Douglas Edwin Newton, Sr. passed away peacefully at home with his family on September 13, 2020.

Doug is the son of Edwin and Virginia (Mabee) Newton of Simsbury, CT.   

Doug was brought up in Simsbury, CT, and graduated from Henry James Memorial High School.  He went on to a vocational school and got a certificate in welding which he did for most of his working career. 

As a youth, Doug was a Cub Scout and Boy Scout and loved all of the outdoor activities.  He loved fishing and hunting and would go whenever he could with his father and friends. As a family, his parents took him and his sister camping every summer all over New England and Canada where he met many friends along the way.  Growing up most Saturdays were spent with family friends and Sundays at his aunt and uncles on Allenhurst Farm in North Granby, CT.  He would help with all the chores and piling hay in the barn, milking the cows, helping in the cider mill, or turning the crank to make delicious homemade ice cream.  Every Sunday dinner and Monday nights were spent with his family at his grandparents, Grace and George Rouse and sometimes his Aunt Edie came with his cousins. 

After school, Doug worked at Kelly Farm helping Mr. Kelly with the animals.  Whenever he found a bird with a broken wing or a small animal that was hurt, he would nurse them back to health.  He loved horses and when he got his own he became a Farrier, shoeing and taking care of his horse and others.  As a teen, he became a member of the Thomas H. Desmond Chapter, Order of Demolay in Simsbury, CT, and very proudly rose in the ranks to become Master Councilor. 

Doug joined the Governor’s Horse Guard 1st Company which was chartered in 1788 and is the oldest continuously mounted Calvary Unit in the United States.  The Governor’s Horse Guard was primarily ceremonial but could be called up with the National Guard.  He performed in many parades doing acrobatics on the backs of horses which he loved and was very proud to be a part of the Guard. 

In 1974 he married his wife Carol and they moved to Southwick where they raised their three children. 

He leaves his wife Carol Newton of Southwick, MA, his daughter Crystal, who is a nurse, took such great care of her Dad when he got out of the hospital, along with Crystal’s partner Nahin and their three children: Izayah, Devante, and Brianna, his son Douglas Edwin Newton, Jr. and his wife Michelle, along with their daughters, Arianna and Olivia, and his son Curtis and Curtis’s daughter, Maya, his step-daughter Pamela Platner of Southwick, MA, his step-son Allan Platner of Jacksonville, FL, his aunt Diane LeBlanc of Andover, MA, his nephew Michael LeBlanc and Michael’s daughter Phoebe of Woburn, MA, along with many other family members and friends. 

All services for Doug are private. 

Avalon Funeral & Cremation Services, 691 College Hwy, Southwick, MA 01077 is entrusted with arrangements.   To express condolences please visit Doug’s memorial page at www.avaloncelebrations.com

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