Erle William Newman

Erle Willard Newman was born August 30, 1927 in Walnut Creek, California to Ruth Howard Thacker and Sam Thacker. After his parent’s divorce he was raised by his grandparents, Lewis and Edna Howard in Elko Nevada. Erle, who was called Bill since his uncle was also named Erle, then moved to Dunsmuir California with his mom and stepfather, Al Newman. When he joined the Navy, just after high school in 1945, he legally changed his name to Newman.

He married Virginia Snow Stenstrom in 1950. They had 5 children. Kevin, Craig, Keith (who died at birth), Kimberly and Judith.

Erle, served in the Korean war as a corpsman, and was in the Navy for 20 years. He retired in 1965. He worked for the County of Orange as an animal control officer, where he met his second wife, Etta Mae Jones. When they retired from the County, Erle and Etta moved to Winters, California and ran a feed store. They returned to Southern California and settled in Wildomar. He began a third career as a school custodian for Lake Elsinore School District. Erle enjoyed hunting, fishing and horseback riding. He was a member of the Rancho California Caballeros and Las Tortugas horseback riding clubs and attended annual rides for over 10 years.

Erle lived a long and full life and was loved by friends and family. He will be missed.