Dan Charles Newton

Dan Charles Newton, 68, of Grimes, formerly of Newton, passed away peacefully at his home Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021.

The son of Melvin and Helen (Hetzel) Newton, Dan was born April 18, 1952, in Des Moines. Dan grew up in Newton and graduated from Newton Senior High School in 1970. While in high school, Dan was very involved in student government and was elected president of the student council. As a junior, he attended American Legion Boys State at Camp Dodge. His experience there sparked a life-long passion for the program. For 41 years, he has returned as a Boys State counselor every summer.

Dan’s career path as a pharmacist began when he was just 14 years old, working as a clerk at the Corner Pharmacy in Newton. While in college, he interned at Nollen Drug Store before graduating from the University of Iowa’s College of Pharmacy in 1975. From there, Dan worked at hospital pharmacies in Osage, Waterloo and Maquoketa, before returning to Newton in 1991. He then spent the majority of his career as a pharmacist at Skiff Medical Center (MercyONE Newton). He thoroughly enjoyed his colleagues and counseling his patients in regards to their medications. Dan retired from his role at Skiff in 2013. However, Dan couldn’t seem to stay away from the profession. Since his retirement, he has worked part-time as a pharmacist for Newton Wal-Mart.

In 1986, Dan met his future wife, Mary Clarke, with some help from his dad. Dan’s father, Melvin, had previously hired Mary to teach music in the Newton schools. Melvin passed along her name to Dan in hopes that they would hit it off. Fortunately, they did. Dan and Mary were married July 11, 1987, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Newton. They were blessed with three children, Sarah, Brian and Kevin. Dan was a loving father and was notorious for his dad jokes. He would often laugh so hard before he even told them.

Dan enjoyed exercising and was known for walking faithfully every day. No matter how busy he was, he made time to walk on the treadmill during his lunch break or you could find him walking outside if the weather was nice. Dan also enjoyed reading books on his Kindle and spending his days off going on adventures with Mary. They took annual trips to the Chicago Cubs’ spring training in Arizona and attended several baseball games at Wrigley Field in Chicago. More importantly, however, he loved spending time with his family. He especially enjoyed babysitting his grandchildren, Logan and Libby.

Those left to honor Dan’s memory include his wife, Mary; and children, Sarah (BJ) Newcomb of Grimes, and their children, Logan and Libby; Brian Newton of San Diego, Calif.; and Kevin Newton of Davenport. Also surviving are his mother Helen Newton of Newton; brother, Ted (Joan) Newton of Loudon, Tenn.; and sister, Kay (David) Peterson of Gainesville, Va. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews.

Due to COVID, a private family funeral will be Monday, Jan. 25 at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Colfax. Following the funeral, the burial will take place at Sacred Heart Cemetery in Newton. A celebration of life will be held at a later date.

Memorials can be made out to “American Legion Boys State” to establish a scholarship for junior counselors in Dan’s name and may be mailed to Coburn Funeral Home at 24 W. Howard St., Colfax, IA 50054, Attn: Dan Newton Family. Condolences may be left at coburnfuneralhomes.com.