Elmer Howard Newton, 94, Dickinson, died Monday, August 30, 2010 at the St. Luke’s Home, Dickinson. Elmer’s funeral service will be at 10 a.m., on Friday, September 3, 2010, at the Dickinson United Methodist Church with Rev. Scott McKirdy officiating. Interment will take place at the Dickinson Cemetery and military honors will be provided by the Dickinson Honors Team. Visitation will be from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., with the family present from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., to greet friends on Thursday at Ladbury Funeral Service, Dickinson and will continue one hour prior to services at the church on Friday.
Elmer was born on May 26, 1916, to Frank Howard Newton and Ann Hewson Newton at the family farm near Hirschville. He attended Iota country school #5 and graduated from Model High School in Dickinson.
Prior to being drafted, Elmer helped on the family farm and measured fields for the Soil Conservation Service. He left for the army in Feb. 1942, completed basic training as a sharpshooter, and served in the Pacific Theater as a machine gunner. He fought in the South Pacific and Bougainville, Leyte, and the Siege of Manila. He received the Purple Heart and attained the rank of sergeant and was honorably discharged in 1945. After the war, Elmer served as a member of the Dunn County draft board. In 2009 he was able to visit the WWII Memorial in Washington, DC, as a member of the Roughrider Honor Flight.
Upon returning from the war, Elmer needed a new pair of jeans so he went to Dickinson’s JC Penney store. There Anne Schroeder waited on him. A few months later, at a Gladstone dance, Elmer saw the clerk from Penney’s who had sold him the jeans, asked her to dance, and on October 13, 1948, they were married.
They farmed in the Hirschville area and moved to Dickinson in 1964 so their children could pursue educational opportunities.
Elmer will be remembered for his kindness, generosity and wit. His children and grandchildren will miss pinochle games (even though they never could beat the master), watching the Minnesota Twins, and the many political discussions. His best times were spent with his children and grandchildren.
Elmer had a deep and abiding love for the land and was checking on the crops and the price of wheat until the end.
Elmer is survived by his daughter Gail (Doug) Beaudoin and their children, Regan (Shon) Wilson, Stephen (Erin Hintze) Beaudoin and their son Gus, and Kate Beaudoin; daughter Ginger (Niles) Hushka and their son, Reed Hushka; daughter Bev (Paul) Jundt and their son, Brock Ballweber; son Howard (Jarri Mork) Newton and their children Ty and Tia Newton. He is also survived by a sister-in-law, Evelyn Newton. He was preceded in death by his wife Anne in 2005, his brother Layton, his sister, Belva, and a daughter, Carol Jean in 1955 at the age of two.
Elmer was a member of the Elks, the VFW, the United Methodist Church, and served as a member of the Dunn County welfare board for many years. The family would like to thank the staff at St. Luke’s for their concern and compassion. Dad could not have had better care.
Memorials will be sent to the Roughrider Honor Flight. “Flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.”
