Oscar Lee Newton Jr.

Oscar Lee Newton, 86, died January 7, 2014 in Houston. Oscar was born in Dothan, Alabama on January 17, 1927, to Oscar Lee Newton, Sr. and Mary Bea Pittman Newton of Dothan. A Navy veteran of World War II, he won a competitive appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy which he resigned at the end of the war to enter the University of Alabama. While at the university, he was captain of the Varsity Debate Team and in his junior year with his partner, won the National Inter-Collegiate Debate Championship, defeating 33 other university teams, at the national tournament held at West Point. As a senior, he joined with a student from Bates College in Maine to form the first team to represent American universities on a debating tour of England, Wales, and Scotland. Their 12 victories in 16 debates included wins at Oxford and Cambridge. After moving to Birmingham, Alabama, he later married Norma Gene Zachry whom he had known since the 4th grade, and with whom he had two children, Amanda and Frank.

Oscar’s business career included over 60 years of experience in the life insurance industry, including over 50 years with American General Life Insurance Company in Houston. He worked alongside some of the founding officers of the company including Gus Wortham and Benjamin “Woody” Woodson. Positions held at the company included service as a senior officer in both individual and group insurance marketing and in public relations. He was recently honored for his many years of service by dedication of a permanent exhibit of his life and times with the company, located in the atrium of the life insurance building at AIG American General in Houston.

Oscar was a nationally known speaker and humorist, appearing as a keynote speaker at life insurance and underwriter industry meetings, trade associations, civic organizations and companies in 46 states and over 10 foreign countries. He was described by the National Association of Life Underwriters as one of the “truly great life insurance evangelists” and by the Research and Review Service of America as “one of the most articulate and entertaining speakers in the life insurance industry.” He also was the final speaker at numerous annual conventions held throughout North America and abroad including the National Association of Life Underwriters, the Million Dollar Round Table, and for various companies and groups outside the insurance industry. His many awards included being named Man of the Year by the Texas Association of Life Underwriters, recipient of the Woodson Award for Outstanding Service to the Insurance Industry and to the Community, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Texas Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, and recipient of the Outstanding Alumni Award from the College of Communication of the University of Alabama. The University also established the Oscar Newton Prize for Public Speaking (endowed), which it uses to award students in annual competitions. In 2006, the City of Houston honored Oscar by issuing a proclamation of “Oscar Newton Day” in recognition of his years of service to the community.

Oscar was also very active with local charities including United Way which awarded him with the Platinum Award, the Leadership Award, and the Angel Award for his tireless work on their behalf since 1972, and with Neighborhood Centers Inc. in Houston. He served as Chairman of the Board of the Greater Houston unit of the American Cancer Society, and served as a loaned executive to the Greater Houston Partnership. He was also a proud member of Grace Presbyterian Church in Houston where he served as an elder for 25 years.

He was pre-deceased by his parents and by his sister, Helen Burns Newton of Dothan. He is survived by his sister, Eileen Newton Walker of Carrollton, Georgia, his daughter, Amanda Lee Newton Arnold formerly of Houston and now residing in Dothan, Alabama, and his son, Frank H. Newton and wife, Vicky, and grandson, Matthew Young, of The Woodlands, Texas. He is also survived by his former wife and great friend, Pat Wood Newton of Houston.

A Memorial Service for Oscar will be held at 11:00 am on Friday, January 17, 2014 in the main sanctuary of Grace Presbyterian Church, 10221 Ella Lee Lane, Houston, Texas 77042, with reception to follow in the Massey Tucker Hall at the church. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to United Way of Greater Houston, to Neighborhood Centers Inc. in Houston, to the Oscar Newton Prize for Public Speaking endowment fund at University of Alabama’s College of Communication, or to the charity of your choice.