Obituary of Maurice E. Newman

Maurice was born on July 17, 1930 to Dave and Gladys (Curtis) Newman on his grandparents farm north of Wessington, SD.  He grew up on the farm near Burdette, SD and attended country school through the 8th grade near Tulare, SD.  He met Joyce Engle at a basketball game in Feb of 1953 and were married on December 31 that same year. They farmed with his parents until moving to Ashton in 1955, where they started farming on their own.  While at Ashton, Maurice was a member of the Ashton fire department and also a member of the city council.  In 1960, they moved to Miranda and he operated the feed mill and served on the school board.  In 1963, they moved to Tulare where he started working for the South Dakota Wheat Growers and began a long career in Agri-business.  In 1976 he took a job with Farmland Industries as a Feed and Animal Health Specialist and moved to Castlewood, SD.  In 1986, he retired and took a job at the local Co-op in Yankton, SD serving as their Sales Specialist.  In 1992, he retired from Agriculture and began selling specialty items with Spartan Promotional.   Maurice finally retired for good in December of 2017 at age 87. 

Maurice was most proud of his family.  He and Joyce had four daughters, twelve grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren.  Maurice was an avid sports fan.  He spent many years playing softball and coaching his daughter’s teams.  He spent much of his time at local softball and baseball games.  His grandchildren were his favorite ones to watch and he attended as many of their events as possible.  Nothing made him happier that seeing them do what they love.

Maurice is survived by his daughters:  Beverly (Allen) Swaney of Thomas, OK, Barb (Dan) Bottum of Tulare, SD, Brenda (Neil) Wilkinson of Jewell, IA, Bonnie (Greg) Gusso of Yankton SD; his 12 grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren; sisters:  Melva Olson, Marlis Freeburg and Marion Dring, all of Redfield, SD; brothers:  Marvin (Dorinne) Newman of Wilmar, MN, Merlin (Judy) Newman of Aberdeen, SD, Milton (Devonna) Newman of Mina, SD; brother-in-law, Roger Engle of Minneapolis, MN and his sister-in-law, Jean Levtzow of Redfield, SD.  

Maurice was proceded in death by his wife, Joyce; his parents; his brother, Melvin Newman and his brothers-in-law, Harold Olson, Robert Freeburg, Russ Dring, Wayne Engle, Virgel Engle and Gayle Levtzow.