Matthew R Newman Jr.

Matthew Richard Newman Jr. passed away in Orlando, FL, after a four year battle with service related cancer. He was 75 years old.

Richard, as he preferred to be called, is survived by his wife, Judy, sons Richard (wife Michelle), Kevin (wife Tammi), daughter Alison (husband Scott), grandchildren Cassandra, Cayla (husband Dominic), Camrin, Tommy, Katherine, Kaitlyn, Melody, great grandson, Nathaniel, and great grandson Theodore Matthew. Richard was preceded in death by his parents, Matthew and Regina Newman.

Richard was born on October 15, 1945 in Miami Beach, Florida. He graduated from Archbishop Curley High School in 1963, and went on to attend Florida State University in Tallahassee, where he graduated in 1967, with a degree in Finance. During his senior year in high school, Richard enlisted in the Naval Reserve. While in college, he attended two summers in Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island. Consequently, he was able to graduate from college as an Ensign. After graduation in 1967, the Navy assigned him to training in Philadelphia and Norfolk, before assigning him to his tour of duty to Viet Nam in 1968 as Damage Control Officer of the USS Sphinx. After coming home from Viet Nam in 1969, he was assigned to Garden City, Long Island, working at the Defense Contract Agency. He was honorably discharged in 1970 as a Lieutenant.

Richard and Judy, high school sweethearts, married in 1966. Because of his Navy training, they lived in Glassboro, NJ, Norfolk, Va., Gretna, LA, and San Diego, CA, all before their second anniversary. Settling back in Miami, in 1970, Richard worked for Georgia Pacific and Adobe Building Company until being transferred to Tampa in 1974. In 1976, they relocated back to Miami, where they stayed until Richard retired from the Miami Herald Publishing Company in 2006. It was then that they moved to their present home in Orlando.

While in Orlando, Richard became a member of the St. Isaac Jogues Catholic Community, where he was head of the Finance Committee, a member of the Building Committee, a 4th degree Knight of Columbus, and a member of several other ministries of St. Isaac's.

One of Richard's favorite past times was playing golf. He was a member of the Orlando Chapter of ProDuffers USA, holding many offices. He also played many rounds with the Amateur Golf Channel tour. From the time he was a child, Richard loved to fish and he passed this love down to his children. He and Judy took many fishing trips to Sanibel and the mountains with their children and grandchildren. In 2016, they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in Gatlinburg, TN, where they had honeymooned. This is where he learned to fly fish and he became very good at it. He carried his rod and flies with him on every vacation trip.

He will be sadly missed by everyone who knew him, especially his family.

A celebration of life for Richard is scheduled for Thursday, February 18, at 11:00 am, at St. Issac Jogues Catholic Church in Orlando. The family asks in lieu of flowers that a contribution be made for the reforestation of the Great Smokey Mountains at Thistle Dew, www.thistledew.yolasite.com