John H. “Buck” Newman Jr. was born March 19, 1929 in Forest City, Ark. to Maude Doyle Newman and John Haynes Newman Sr.
His first job at age 12 was running a family greenhouse and flower nursery there in Forest City. His father became a train engineer and eventually needed to move to Birmingham, Ala. Buck was playing on the basketball team and chose to stay in Forest City and live with his coach. Later he joined his family in Birmingham and attended Woodlawn High School. It was a new school and the largest in Alabama at the time. He joined the basketball team there and lettered as a stand-out player.
Following high school he attended the University of Alabama and graduated with a degree in Economics, and later graduated from the Louisiana State School of Banking.
Returning to Birmingham he went to work at Birmingham Trust and met his bride to be, Mozella Bates, who was working as secretary to the president of the bank. They soon married after a brief courtship. They worked and enjoyed their time in Birmingham where they were near their families. A son, John H. Newman III, was born in April 1955. Not long after this he met John Will Gay of First National Bank of Scottsboro, Ala. who was looking to bring a young man into the bank there. They soon moved and made Scottsboro their home for 37 years where another son, Robert, and daughter, Linda, were born.
Buck worked hard in the bank and the community, and became president in 1977 and later CEO. Over the course of his career, he became president of the Independent Bankers Association of Alabama twice, the first time at the age of 31. He later served on the Federal Reserve Board for the Southeastern United States. He was instrumental in helping grow First National Bank from a single main office bank to a company of eight banks and two finance companies. The bank was once recognized during hard financial times by Money Magazine as one of their ‘top 100 banks’ in the United States in terms of bank solvency, and only two banks in Alabama were recognized at the time.
His community activities included development of the Dixie Youth baseball league. He worked on a committee of three for Mayor John T. Reed to develop Goose Pond Colony, which included an 18 hole golf course, marina, camping sites and other lands for future development. He was president of Civitans a number of times and also started the Kiwanis Club in Scottsboro. He was involved in political campaigns, and gave much time and effort to the community.
He also was an active member of the First United Methodist church while in Scottsboro, serving in the area of the church finance committee. His work became significant when the church moved from downtown to its current location building - a beautiful church on Broad Street during the Pastorate of Willis Vickery.
He retired in 1992 from banking after 37 years in Scottsboro and moved with his wife to live in Montgomery. He and Mozella became members of Cloverdale United Methodist Church, and were active in the church. He especially enjoyed his Sunday School class and leading the songs. He remained active and served on the Board of Wynlakes Country Club where he lived. He also worked with Kiwanis and did other charity work including MANE and the IMAGINE program through the Montgomery Chamber of Commerce. Playing golf, Alabama football and working with genealogy were his main interests. He was a member of eight historical societies and served as president of the regional Jamestown Society. There are too many good things to share about Buck; he touched many lives, his family and friends were very important to him and he took pleasure in helping them.
He was preceded in death by his parents, his sisters Margie Newman and Jean Newman Arbuckle, his son John H. Newman III, 1977 and his wife Mozella Bates Newman, 2015.
He is survived by two children, Robert R. Newman (Lynne) and Linda Ann Newman Tynan (James); Grandchildren, Robert Randolph Newman II (Katie), Natalie Newman Richaud (Benjamin), John Garrett Grayson Newman (Kayla), Matthew James Tynan (Jaimie), Scott Anthony Tynan (Ashley), Great Grandchildren, Genevieve Marie Richaud, Asher Elliott Miller, Jacob Scott Tynan and Benjamin Wesley Tynan; Niece Elaine Arbuckle Teel (Henry).
A Celebration of Life service will be held at 3 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 16 at Alabama Heritage Funeral Home, 10505 Atlanta Hwy., Montgomery, Ala. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service. Graveside services will be held at Pinehaven Memorial Gardens, Hollywood, Ala. at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 17. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to the Alzheimer’s Foundation.
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