Kenyon: Yauncey Newman Jan. 26, 1935 - Sept. 26, 2011

[moominmuppet]

HOWARD — Yauncey M. Newman, 76, of Howard, passed away Sept. 26, 2011, at his residence.

This brief obituary doesn't begin to express the role that Yauncey and Juanita played for so many of us students at Kenyon. They were family for those of us away from home. They fed us, they loved us, they showed us wonderful fireworks views. Yauncey's puzzle obsession was a favorite bonding point for him and me, and I still have the locked nails that he handcrafted for each student friend who graduated. He also took me on my first motorcycle ride, let me use his giant garage to build my snake's cage, and was just generally awesome in all possible ways. He was a wonderful man, a dearly loved friend, source of hours of happiness up at their house, The White Whale.

Comments

I just saw this....

[(Anonymous)]

...and echo your comments. I played rugby from 1988 - 1992 and they were a fixture at the games, Juanita schucking corn and Yauncey drinking beers with his amazing laugh. They cared for students in a way that can only be understood by those close to them - we often brought our children down to see them later in life.

Yauncey once gave me some amazing advice. I was dating a girl and she was planning to break up with me. I was crushed and went to talk to him about it. He asked me out to help him pick apples (so typical of those two) and I babbled away about her. Yanucey let me go on and on, and when I was done simply said, "You finished?"

When I said yes, Yauncey say, "Well, go marry her." I responded back, "I do want to marry her!" to which he replied, "Well then, I dont see what the big deal is - now hand me that bucket."

A simple man whose wise life taught me invaluable lessons.