Elder
Gene Newton… born Sidney Eugene Newton September 6, 1937 in Richmond Indiana. Lived just outside of Richmond for 18 years and then joined then joined the Navy. After training and school, Aviation Metalsmith, was stationed in Sanford for 2 and a half years. I was on the Saratoga for three months in the North Atlantic and ten months in the Mediterranean.
I met Ann in Sanford and we were married in 1959 and served the last years of my enlistment in California. We moved back to Florida where our first son was born. I then joined the Air Force and went to school in Biloxi Mississippi for a year. That is where our second son was born. From there we went to Aiken South Carolina where I worked on Radar equipment. We stayed there for three years and our third son was born. From there we went to Dallas Texas for a year. While there I worked for Aerodyne Engineering at Love Field. After that we moved to Fort Wayne Indiana where our fourth son was born (that’s all). While in Fort Wayne I tried my hand at owning a service station. When gas went crazy I went to work managing a fleet of 75 cars and trucks. Then worked for J.C. Penney as an Auto Repair Manager.
While in Fort Wayne I served as a deacon for eight years and an elder for a little over two years. From there we moved to Sanford in 1977. We worshipped there for 25 years. For 23 of those years I served as an elder.
I worked as an auto, truck, and heavy equipment mechanic for around 40 years. Twenty seven of those years were for the same company. I retired in March of 2004 and moved to Tavares and have been worshipping at Mt. Dora since that time.