Newton Buckner Thomas

Newton Buckner Thomas, age 81, passed away peacefully on Saturday, July 19, 2025, at his home in Baton Rouge surrounded by family and friends. He was, above all else, a devoted husband, father, grandfather, and family man. He was a captivating leader in the Baton Rouge community and across the United States, a masterful storyteller, and a true Southern gentleman.

He was born in Baton Rouge on June 11, 1944. Raised by his parents, Buck and Katherine Thomas, alongside his older brother, John, he grew up in a loving and free-spirited household that valued and encouraged the pursuit of academic achievement. His father, Buck, worked as an employee of the Esso plant in Baton Rouge, now known as Exxon, and his mother, Katherine (affectionately known as “Cappo”), was a professor in library sciences at Louisiana State University and an English teacher.

He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Elizabeth “Betsy” Reich Thomas, his children, Katherine Thomas Inzer and her husband Jim Inzer, of Baton Rouge, and Lindsey Thomas Easterly and her husband Tom Easterly, of Baton Rouge; and six grandchildren, Harper Inzer, James Inzer, Thomas Inzer, Sydney Easterly, Benjamin Easterly, and Madeline Easterly. He is also survived by his brother who he dearly love and admired, Dr. John Thomas, a former SEC baseball champion who played shortstop for LSU and an accomplished orthopedic surgeon in Baton Rouge, as well as his niece and nephews, Julie Thomas Hess and her husband Simon Hess (of Miami, FL), John Thomas, Jr. and his wife Debra (of Boerne, TX), and Andy Thomas and wife Anne (of Baton Rouge, LA), as well as many grandnieces and grandnephews.

Newton graduated from Louisiana State University Laboratory School in 1962, and then enrolled at Louisiana State University on a full athletic baseball scholarship. He played catcher for the LSU Tigers baseball team. He separately participated as a Varsity football cheerleader for the LSU Tigers. Newton graduated from LSU in 1967 and received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering with a minor in business administration.

During college at LSU, Newton picked up a nickname – “Neutron” – which his college engineering buddies cleverly and jovially coined for him because they claimed he was “all mass and no energy.” The nickname was shortened to “Tron,” and eventually, with a slight variation, served as the genesis for the name of the company he later co-founded in 1973.

After graduating from LSU, Newton took a job with Southern Instruments, Inc. in Baton Rouge, an industrial controls contractor specializing in control systems in the petrochemical, refining, paper, and power generation fields. He started there as an estimating engineer. Four years later in 1971, at the age of 27, Newton took over as the company’s President.

Between 1967 and early 1973, Newton spent most of his days working for Southern Instruments, but he maintained an enviable work life balance. He developed a passion for flying airplanes and sailing. In his late 20’s and 30’s, via his sailboat “Katherine” that he named after his mother, he frequented Pensacola, Key West, the Bahamas, and many other nautical destinations, where he lived aboard his sailboat. Newton’s stories from that era, which he artfully delivered for more than 50 years, are nothing short of legendary.

But there were three landmark events that forever changed Newton’s life. Two of those involved his family. At the age of 34, he fell in love with and married Betsy Reich, the love of his life, who was the daughter of Robert Reich of Baton Rouge, the founder and namesake of the Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture. Next, shortly after marriage, Newton and Betsy were blessed with two daughters, Katherine and Lindsey. Newton’s fondest memories included days out on the water with “his three girls” – with Newton at the helm in some remote destination such as Key West or some island in the Bahamas – preferably with a dark rum drink in his hand.

The third landmark event occurred in May 1973, when, with the help of two business partners, Newton co-founded Newtron, Inc. The early board meetings took place around a ping pong table. At first, it was just another electrical instrumentation company similar to his previous job. There was one key difference, however, which was that Newton enjoyed operational and managerial control over his new business venture. That enabled him to create and implement a unique corporate culture predicated upon his core values. Newton was determined to place responsibility, authority, and decision making into the hands of the employees closest to the task at hand, with a corporate recognition that the financial success of the company should be liberally shared with the employees. Newton’s vision for the company was always that the employees be rewarded for their efforts. He designed the culture to promote and foster in each employee a sense of self-motivation to succeed, while simultaneously ensuring corporate responsibility, honesty, and integrity. The business model he created and refined over many years emphasizes the retention of employees on a long-term basis, which he viewed as the company’s greatest strength. According to Newton, “long term committed employees are the key to our success.” The company’s Core Values and Beliefs (which are published in all offices and job sites) serve as his blueprint for how to conduct business.

Today, the company is known as The Newtron Group, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2023. It presently operates across the United States through multiple subsidiaries with offices throughout the country, including offices in Louisiana, Texas, Nevada, and California. The group of companies collectively employ approximately 5,000 people. Newton established annual events, including crawfish boils and picnics at each local office, where employees and their family members gather in a family atmosphere. Newton hardly ever missed one. After Newton acquired sole ownership of the company in 1996, he steadily grew it into one of the largest industrial electrical and instrumentation specialty construction companies in the United States.

Newton Thomas received numerous awards and recognitions during his career including induction to the LSU College of Engineering’s Hall of Distinction. In 2015, Newton was named as LSU’s Alumnus of the Year. In 2018, Newton was inducted into the Baton Rouge Business Report’s Hall of Fame. In 2019, Louisiana Public Broadcasting honored Newton with its “Louisiana Legend” award, which salutes the state’s most influential, visionary, and successful citizens.

Between 1994 and 1996, Newton periodically traveled to Cambridge, MA to attend a Harvard Business School Executive Education Program to sharpen his management and leadership skills. The Harvard educators were impressed by The Newtron Group. They viewed its commitment to employees and social good as comparable to other modern company philosophies, but they concluded it was more advanced due to the emphasis on charitable giving.

In 2002, Newton founded The Newton B. Thomas Support Foundation. It served as a non-profit company through which Newton engaged in extensive philanthropy throughout the remainder of his life. His past charitable endeavors include the LSU Center for River Studies located on the Baton Rouge Water Campus, the Knock Knock Children's Museum in Baton Rouge, and the Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital in Baton Rouge – which now includes The Newton & Betsy Thomas Family Center for Newborn & Infant Intensive Care.

Newton, who was self-made, had a dream to continue his commitment to the company’s employees and to charitable giving even after his lifetime. Accordingly, he left The Newtron Group to the foundation he created, the Newton B. Thomas Support Foundation, which will hold and preserve his company for generations to come. The Newtron Group will continue to operate for the benefit of its employees, while simultaneously furthering his commitment to promote social good. The end result fulfills Newton’s dream, and it will positively impact communities across the United States, especially including the communities in which the company operates, through a limitless continuation and advancement of the economic and charitable goals cherished and fulfilled by Newton during his truly incredible life.

Newton a/k/a “Tron” a/k/a “Pop” was a lifelong outdoorsman, an avid hunter and fisherman, a passionate sailor and boating enthusiast, an enthusiastic golfer, and an accomplished pilot. He loved music by The Eagles, old cypress, and the sound of a gobbling turkey at sunrise. He was a voracious reader who never stopped learning and a winner of many sudoku puzzles. He was less than fond of rules (in general), government bureaucracy, and game wardens.

He was especially fond, though, of Port Eads, Louisiana, at the mouth of the Mississippi River below Venice, where his paternal grandfather, Dr. Thomas, was once stationed as the immigration doctor. There, Newton positioned a houseboat he designed, commissioned, and towed downriver to South Pass. In the years in and around 1978 to 2005, Newton and his family and friends frequented Port Eads to enjoy world class fishing and duck hunting. On June 14, 1986, Newton and crew won the Baton Rouge Big Game Fishing Club Invitational Bluewater Tournament in South Pass aboard “Betsy” taking home the Top Boat trophy and 1st place in the Blue Marlin, Wahoo, and Yellowfin Tuna categories. His preferred and favorite angler was none other than his beloved wife, Betsy, who reeled in many of the tournament winners that year and in many others.

The family wishes to thank every employee of the Newtron Group, and the family would also like to thank everyone affiliated with the Newton B. Thomas Support Foundation.

He was mentor to a collection of engineers, businessmen, businesswomen, and friends too many to count. He will be dearly missed by those who had the fortune to have him as part of their lives. Tales of Newton Buckner Thomas, however, will live on forever, as will his legacy.

Visitation will be held on Saturday, July 26, at St. James Episcopal Church, 205 North 4th Street in Baton Rouge, from 2:00 p.m. until 4:15 p.m., with a Memorial Service at 4:30 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, the family would be grateful for contributions to AMIkids Baton Rouge, 5555 Beechwood Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70805, the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, 402 North 4th Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70802, or the charity of one's choice.

NBT (1944-2025)