Gene Newman
Clinton Eugene "Gene" Newman (25 July 1929 – 12 November 1978 (aged 49)) was a Canadian-American man. He was the youngest brother of Bruce Newman.
Early life
Gene was born 25 July 1929, in Windsor, Ontario, to Clinton Newman and Eugenia Swift. He was presumably referred to by his middle name to disambiguate him from his father, Earl Clinton Newman, who went by a shortened form of his middle name: "Clint".
As of 1939 he was living at 44 St. Louis, Riverside, Windsor, Ontario.
On 7 October 1939 he travelled with both his parents to Detroit, Michigan, to reside permanently.
He served as a Private First Class (PFC) [1] in the U.S. Army, an accomplishment noted on his tombstone.
His social security number was 385-26-1752, issued in Michigan before 1951.
He lived with his mother in the 1950s, at 13574 Cloverlawn in Detroit. Sandra Kenzie remembers visiting a few times, and staying in the attic. She recalls: "The screened-in front porch was Gene's little office and there were bookshelves full of mystery novels. That was where I first read Sherlock Holmes!"
He had 2 older brothers:
- Bruce Frederick Newman (1918 - 1968)
- John William "Jack" Newman (1920 - 2013)
Career
Gene was a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). After earning his accounting degree, he worked for a company in Detroit. He later attended Wayne State University, earning a Master's degree in accounting and business; he may have gone on to earn a doctorate as well, though this is not certain.[1]
He moved his family from Royal Oak, Michigan to Spring Lake after an acquaintance invited him to join his accounting firm. He became a co-owner of Allen and Newman CPA in Muskegon.
Marriage and family
He married Dorothy Falshaw (circa 1935 - 2018), late in life, and had a daughter, Karen Mary Newman, in about 1965. However, he died when she was around 13 years old.
Karen went on to become a nurse, and marry Tony Furlich. Karen and Tony have 4 children:
Karen's family as of 2020 makes their home in Cadillac, Michigan.
Death
He lived at Spring Lake, Michigan just before his death.
He died 12 November 1978, in Grand Haven, Michigan. This is just a bit south of where his mother was living when she died, so presumably she was living in Muskegon to be near to her youngest son.
Like his eldest brother Bruce, he died an early death, aged just 49 years old. (Bruce died at 50. His other brother Jack died at 93.)
Personality
Like his oldest brother Bruce, who apparently rode a motorcycle while living in Windsor as a teenager, he also rode a motorcycle.[2]
He was a very funny man, causing Sandra and her sisters to laugh so much while eating that they would get hiccups!
He owned a Cessna airplane, or flew them, close to Detroit. At one point he took Sandra up in one, but was disappointed that she spent the whole trip in terror. His little dips and tricks in the plane did not impress her!
His brother Jack was fond of saying that of the three Newman boys, Gene was the smartest and could have done anything he wanted. Karen notes that his choice of accounting was, to her mind, a happy mystery.[1]
Karen describes her father as a practical joker and an avid reader—as well as an adventurer. A family story holds that he had his pilot's license before he had a driver's license, a claim that, if unverifiable, would not be out of character. By his daughter's account, he was a good father.
References
- Ancestry.ca
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Email from Karen Furlich to Michael Currie, 28 May 2026.
- ↑ As told by Sandra Kenzie, 28 July 2018.