NEWTON, Dennis SVD 1951-2014
NEWTON, FISCHELS, MILLER, MCKERN
Posted By: S. Bell
Date: 10/4/2014 at 22:02:57
[Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, Thursday, April 10, 2014]
Brother Dennis Newton SVD, 62, passed away on Saturday, April 5, 2014, surrounded by family, friends and fellow Divine Word Missionaries.
The Mission Center was founded in 1958 and Brother Dennis was appointed national mission director by the Generalate in Rome in 2002. Brother Dennis was responsible for raising funds for the ministries and programs of over 6,000 missionaries working in Africa, Asia, Oceania, Europe and South America. Their activities include sharing the Word of God, ministering in Catholic parishes, developing health care clinics and building schools.
For nine years, Brother Dennis served as vice provincial of the Chicago Province, which extends from Canada to the West Indies and from Iowa to Massachusetts.
During his years of service, he taught at Holy Rosary Institute, Lafayette, La., and was on the pastoral staff at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, Lafayette. He also held several leadership roles in the Society of the Divine Word U.S. Southern Province, including provincial treasurer, director of brother formation, retreat center director, and pastoral administrator of St. Rose de Lima Parish.
Dennis Newton was born in Waterloo in 1951. He was the son of Rita (Fischels) and the late James Newton. He was the brother of Kathy (Gary) Miller of La Porte City and Candy (Chris) McKern of Kasson, Minn.
Brother Dennis became a Divine Word Missionary in 1977 and professed perpetual vows in 1983. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Divine Word College, Epworth, and a master’s in business administration from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. In the late 1980s, he returned to Divine Word College and served as business manager, director of admissions, and national vocation director, guiding young men as they considered becoming brothers and priests.
Brother Dennis was an advocate for the homeless. In 2001, he received the Volunteer of the Year award from Residents for Effective Shelter Transitions (REST), which provides shelter and food for Chicago’s homeless.
He served on the board of directors for Two Lil’ Fishes, a meal program for the homeless in Chicago, and Leading India’s Future Today (LIFT), a non-profit organization dedicated to developing leadership excellence among youth in Tamil Nadu, India.
The wake for Brother Dennis will be held on Friday, April 11, at 7 p.m. in the Chapel of the Holy Spirit in Techny Towers Retreat and Conference Center. The funeral will begin at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 12, in the Chapel of the Holy Spirit. Burial will take place in St. Mary’s Cemetery at Techny.
Techny Towers Conference and Retreat Center is located at 2001 Waukegan Road, Techny (Northbrook), Ill. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts to be distributed among Brother Dennis’s favorite charities may be sent in his name to Divine Word Missionaries, P.O. Box 6099.
Black Hawk Obituaries maintained by Karen De Groote.
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