Colonel Russell A. Newman

Newman, Colonel Russell A., age 73, of Knoxville, completed his mission on March 22, 2003. Colonel Newman was born in Knoxville on December 12, 1929. He earned a degree in Business Administration from the University of Tennessee in 1953 and, as an ROTC student, was commissioned a Second Lieutenant of Infantry in the U.S. Army. His military career included the Infantry Officer's Basic Course, the Armor Officer's Advanced Course and U.S. Army's Command and General Staff College (C&GSC;). Colonel Newman went on to serve positions of staff and command from platoon leader through regimental commander. He was the first regimental commander, designated as "the first Colonel of Regiment, " of the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment (ACR) in Knoxville. The Tennessee National Guard unit became one of only two heavy armored cavalry regiments in the US Army. It is today an enhanced brigade, a very prestigious designation that keeps the unit as a state-of-the-art unit in the Army. After retiring from the military in June 1985 with nearly 32 years' service, Colonel Newman joined the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA). In March 1986 when TEMA was organized into regions along the lines of the state's three Grand Divisions, Colonel Newman was named the first director of the East Region. Colonel Newman retired from that post in March, 1999. Colonel Newman is a past president of the National Guard Association of Tennessee and has served numerous public service organizations in East Tennessee, the last being on the Board of Directors of Goodwill Industries and the Knoxville Volunteer Emergency Rescue Squad. Colonel Newman is preceded in death by his parents Russell and Georgia Newman and sister Hazel Morton. Son Sgt. Charles Newman; daughter Ann Rita Ditmore and husband Floyd; grandson Hunter Ditmore; sister and brother-in-law Barbara and Howard Bozeman; brother-in-law J.W. Morton; several nieces and nephews. There will be a reception from 10:00 AM until Noon Tuesday at the National Guard Armory at 3330 Sutherland Avenue with a memorial service to follow at Noon, with the Chaplains Corps of the National Guard Armory officiating. Inurnment will follow at the Tennessee Veterans Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the Colonel requests memorial donations be made to Goodwill Industries 5508 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919 or the Knoxville Volunteer Emergency Rescue Squad 512 N. Chilhowee Drive, Knoxville, TN. 37914. Arrangements by Berry Funeral Home, Chapman Highway.