Robert Joe Newman

Robert was born on August 15, 1936 in Houston, TX to Paul Woodville Newman and Ruth Watford Newman. He grew up in Talco, TX where his father worked for the Humble Oil and Refining Company. When he was 13, his family moved to New London, TX and then eventually to Andrews, TX where he attended and graduated from Andrews High School in 1954.

It was in high school where he met the love of his life, Juawanna B. Colbert, when he was a junior and she was a freshman. The story goes that she used to go out of her way to walk by his locker so she might accidentally see him (and he her, presumably). Additionally, one day she was studying in the school library when all of a sudden a wad of paper landed on her table. When she looked up to see where it came from, he was doing his best to look totally innocent. Soon after that they were inseparable.

After high school graduation, Robert attended college at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, also working full-time, while Juawanna finished high school in Andrews. They corresponded extensively by mail during that time, and whenever he got a chance he returned home to Andrews to see her. They were married on June 6 ,1956, shortly after her high school graduation. Juawanna joined him in Lubbock and worked full time while he finished college earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Geology. Robert also worked full time throughout his college years. He had planned on working in the oil business like his father, but there was a slump in the oil industry shortly before he was due to graduate, so there were very few jobs available in that field. At that point he was not sure if he should even complete his degree. On the advice of his beloved Uncle Ted Newman though, Robert went ahead and finished college and became a high school teacher.

Robert and Juawanna moved to El Paso, TX in 1960 when he accepted a job as a teacher at Bel Air High School, where he taught for 31 years. He taught Chemistry and Physics for most of his career and then transitioned to Math for the last few years. Robert and Juawanna welcomed daughter Dana Elizabeth Newman to the world soon after moving to El Paso in 1960. She was followed in 1965 by son Jeffrey Paul Newman.

In the mid 1960’s Robert attended the University of Wyoming in Laramie for 3 summer sessions and earned a Master’s Degree in Education. Many of his former students have said that he was one of, if not THE best teacher they ever had. He retired from teaching in 1993 to take care of his ailing mother, Ruth.

Robert was known for his generous heart and willingness to help others. He could seemingly build or fix anything and was more than ready to share his knowledge with others, or simply to help them with what they needed.

Soon after receiving his Master’s Degree, Robert’s father Paul passed away in Montana where he and Robert’s mother Ruth owned a cherry orchard. Robert and his family spent 4 summers helping Ruth take care of the cherry orchard before she sold it. This is just one testament to his willingness to help others. While in Montana the Newmans made many wonderful friends, some of whom are still in contact with the family today.

Robert was an explorer at heart. He was ready to go anywhere at the drop of a hat, and so was Juawanna in the early years of their marriage. They went on many day trips from wherever they were located just to “see what was out there”. In later years, Juawanna could not go as often because she could not tolerate much sun exposure. But she was more than willing to let him go exploring while she stayed home and worked on her hobbies.

Robert took up hiking in the mid 1980’s and hiked all over the Southwest: El Paso – Las Cruces – Cloudcroft – Ruidoso – Guadalupe National Park. He even hiked down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon 4 times, once all the way up and down in 1 day with a cousin when they were in their 20’s, twice with daughter Dana, and another time he hiked all the way from the North Rim to the South Rim in 1 day while Juawanna waited for him to return via helicopter. He happily took his children, son-in-law Lee, and grandchildren on many spur of the moment “Adventures with PaPa” over the years – 4 wheeling, hiking, mountain biking, or just plain road trips. His nieces and nephews also loved going places and spending time with “Uncle Robert”.

Robert bought himself a mountain bike on his 60th birthday, wondering if people would think he was “crazy” to take up such a sport at that age. He got his family involved, including son-in-law Lee, and they all got bikes (or he bought them for them) and they rode the trails along with him. He became a volunteer with the Franklin Mountains State Park and flagged, built, and maintained several mountain biking trails in the El Paso area, receiving Volunteer of the Year awards several times. He knew the science of how to build trails that would last, be safe, and not easily get washed away by the summer rainfalls. He was still riding his bike on the trails into his early 80’s and even continued to work on trails a few years after that. He loved the Franklin Mountains and the bike trails and the many, many friends he met along the way.

Robert was preceded in death by his father, Paul W. Newman, mother Ruth (Watford) Newman, wife Juawanna B. Newman, and sister Paula Newman Ogden.

He is survived by his daughter Dana Newman McCartney (husband Lee), son Jeffrey P. Newman (wife Bonnie), Grandchildren: Joshua Lee McCartney (wife Alina) , Jeremy Robert McCartney (wife Joy Anna), Joel Christopher McCartney (partner Deborah Delgado), Jenna Marie McCartney (partner Riley Renger), Joseph William Newman (partner Tristan Ratliff), and Laura Ruth Newman (partner Harmukh Singh), Great-Grandchildren: Callum Robert McCartney, Archie B. McCartney, and Kit Carter McCartney, Brother-in-law Jan Ogden, and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was an inspiration to all and will be missed by his family and everybody who knew him.

Robert’s family would like to especially thank Benjamin Giron and Robert Sweigart of Mariah Oaks Senior Foster home for providing a safe, caring, and loving place for Robert over the last year. He was very happy there and we were extremely pleased with the wonderful care provided by Minnie, Maricela, Lulu, Lupita, Bella, and Arlene.

The family would also like to thank Lulu Thorpe for recommending Mariah Oaks to us.

Services for Robert are as follows at Martin Funeral Home at 128 Resler:

Saturday April 4, 2026 – visitation from 9 to 10 AM, Service at 10, followed by a reception at the funeral home.

A celebration of life for both Robert and his wife of almost 68 years, Juawanna will be held in El Paso in late May 2026.