Frank Newell

FranK Newell passed away Wednesday, August 7, in Roseburg, Oregon. Frank was born on July 25, 1931, in Hood River, To Frank L. Newell, Sr. and Virginia Newell. After spending his childhood years in the Hood River/Parkdale area, his family moved to Gresham where he graduated from Gresham High School in 1949.

In 1954, he married Gloria Ostrom and was about to celebrate 59 years of marriage this September.

Frank was an entrepreneur at heart and spent the majority of his life pursing entrepreneurial endeavors. He started young as a partner/operator with his father in a ranching operation near Madras. In his mid-twenties, he opened Frank’s Automotive, a retail parts store in Gresham. In 1958, he became a partner in the local Pontiac-GMC dealership in Gresham, which went on to become Frank Newell Pontiac – GMC. He sold the automobile business in 1975 to pursue real estate development opportunities.

He went on to own and develop several commercial properties in the Gresham area. In 1985, he re-entered the automobile business with his son, Clint, in Roseburg, as a partner in what became Clint Newell Auto Group.

Frank had many passions in his life. He was a cowboy at heart and a successful cattle rancher his entire adult life. He obtained his pilot’s license in 1976 and enjoyed flying for thousands of hours over the following 30 years.

He was also known as an armchair economist and loved talking about economics and business with friends and family.

He was preceded in death by his parents. Survivors include his loving wife, Gloria Newell of Roseburg; daughter, Jayne Lanza of Shreveport, La; son and daughter-in-law, Clint and Carol Newell of Roseburg; granddaughter, Missoni Lanza of Palm Springs, Calif.; grandson, Tim Lanza of Shreveport, La.; and grandsons, Cameron and Connor Newell of Roseburg.

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m., Friday, August 16th at Bateman Carroll Funeral Home, 520 W. Powell Blvd. in Gresham, Oregon. Reception to follow at Persimmon Country Club in Gresham.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Frank Newell Memorial Fund of the Oregon Humane Society.