Arizona with his sons at his side. Burt was born on August 28, 1919 in Twin Falls,
Idaho to Charles and Florence (Brooks) Newbry.
Burt was raised in the Great Depression, which hit his family very hard and affected him
his whole life. After graduating from high school in Glenn’s Ferry, Idaho in 1937 he
spent a year looking for work, finally getting a job laying railroad ties (by hand with pick,
shovel and sledgehammer – there was no machinery involved). After several crushed
fingers and total exhaustion day after day he realized that job could easily kill him. So
at the end of the summer he rolled up a bedroll with his few belongings, took his entire
summer earnings of $35 and hitchhiked to Albion State Normal School (teacher’s
college). With help from the college president he got jobs as a church janitor, a
playground supervisor and a night watchman, paying a total of $23 per month. With this
“fortune” (as he described it) he was able to graduate in 1940 and found a job teaching
junior high in a two-room schoolhouse. The US entered WW II eighteen months later
and Burt enlisted in the Army as soon as the school year was over.
When the war ended Burt went home to Idaho and enrolled at the College of Idaho,
graduating in eighteen months and marrying Ella Stone along the way. After graduating
in 1947 Burt and Ella moved to Missoula, Montana where Burt graduated with a
master’s degree in English. Their next stop was the College of Idaho, again, where Burt
was an English professor and their first son was born. Next was the University of
Oregon, where Burt received a doctorate, followed by a faculty position at the University
of Nevada, Reno and the birth of two more boys.
In 1959 Burt was recruited into the US Agency for International Development (AID).
With AID he and Ella spent twenty years working overseas with postings in Korea,
Nigeria, Thailand and Nepal. A stint with the World Bank took Burt to many other
countries as well, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Jordan, Turkey, Yemen
and Ethiopia. Burt’s work focused on education; one of the schools he was instrumental
in setting up in Korea is now a major technical institute. But Burt’s and Ella’s real love
was the people they met. They immersed themselves in every culture and looked for
ways to help. Among other things, Ella taught English classes and Burt, with a friend,
established a church that was quickly filled to capacity.
Burt’s many passions included politics, the environment, human rights, international
affairs, tennis, exercise, gardening and his family. He was preceded in death by the
love of his life, Ella, wife of 62 years. He often said his long life and good fortune were
all due to Ella. He leaves behind his three sons (Brooks, Paul and Burton) their wives,
seven grandchildren and countless people whose lives he touched. We rejoice in a life
well-lived!
Burt supported countless charities. In place of flowers the family requests donations to
The Burt and Ella Newbry Memorial Scholarship Fund at the College of Idaho
(https://www.givecampus.com/campaigns/18893/donations/new) or an environmental
organization such as A Living Tribute (https://www.alivingtribute.org/) or The Arbor Day
Foundation (https://shop.arborday.org/membership).
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