Marcus Emerit Newton

Marcus Emerit Newton, born March 23, 1944 in Mead, Colorado, died February 12, 2026 in Greeley, surrounded by family.

Faith in God was the common thread throughout Marcus' life, from his childhood family's faith and involvement at Guardian Angel Catholic Church, to his years participating in a home fellowship called Charitas as a young man, to his years at Fellowship Christian Reformed Church. An elder and youth leader, he-and thus his family!- was virtually always the last to leave on Sunday mornings; he had a key to lock up. His faith manifested itself in his generosity, kindness, and love for those around him, as well as his desire to see truth and justice in the wider world. Not one for small talk, he would check in with those he loved with a "How ARE you?" And he cared and listened to the replies. When faced with his final illness and imminent death, he said, "I'm ready to go meet Jesus."

In the 1970s, Marcus was the person to whom the local animal control turned when they received sick or injured birds. The Newton family was host to quite a variety: a great white pelican, screech owls, a great horned owl, sparrows, robins, doves, kestrels, even a starling named Henry. After caring for them and bringing about healing if possible, he released them back into their habitat.

Marcus appreciated beauty, whether it was in the hills behind the family home in Oregon, the city of Paris, Switzerland, his favorite spot in the mountains called Rock Creek, or his favorite bird-watching spot for years, Latham.

Marcus attended Mead schools, meeting his future wife of 61 years, Donna Barnes, when they were both in first grade. In their last year at Mead, they co-starred in the high school play "Where is Laurie?" before the high school merged for their senior year with Longmont, from which they graduated in 1962.

A 1967 graduate of UNC with a bachelor of arts in social sciences, Marcus' journalist career spanned 30 years, mostly at the Greeley Tribune. He held many different jobs throughout the years: photographer, sports editor, news editor, city editor, and three years as managing editor of The News Review in Roseburg, Oregon. As newspapers evolved from noisy manual typewriters and paper cut-and-paste to the silence of computers and digital layouts, he taught himself along the way.

He was known to many for a newspaper column he wrote for the Tribune in the '90s. Readers often expressed appreciation that he beautifully described his childhood and in so doing, theirs as well. He compiled his articles into a book called Meadian Standard Time. His family is thankful for this record of so much he found meaningful in his life.

He not only wrote well, he read deeply and widely. He read newspapers, history (especially World War II), non-fiction, theology, novels. He encouraged all around him to read as well. For years, family members knew they'd get books for Christmas, they just didn't know which ones.

Marcus Emerit Newton, the XIXth, as he often signed his name, was nineteenth of twenty children. He was preceded in death by parents Laura Dreier Newton and James Elmer Newton; by brothers Orbin Newton, Raymond Newton, Robert Newton, Jack Newton, Thomas Newton, Gerald Newton, Roland Newton, Richard Newton, David Newton, and Forrest Newton; and by sisters Eunice Thornton, Betty Curran, Rosemary Newton, Helen Teter, Patricia French, Martha Newton, Kathleen Hetterle, and Maureen Newton. He is survived by brother Ronald Newton; wife Donna Barnes Newton; children Kim Newton Smith, Laura Senti (Cory), and David Newton (Yun); grandchildren Laurianne Senti, Michael Smith, David Senti, Daniel Smith, Ethan Senti, Caroline Smith, Alondra Senti, and Ray Newton Wu; amazing friend Dave Nedrud; many nieces and nephews, great nieces and nephews, and even great-great nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held at Guardian Angels Catholic Church in Mead, Colorado at 10:30 on Friday, July 17, with a lunch and interment of ashes at Foothills Gardens of Memory in Longmont to follow.