Donald Ray Newbrough (1928-2007)

NEWBROUGH, MOSER, COWAN, LAWRENCE, THORNTON, WILLIAMS, HAMLIN, BARNETT

Posted By: Ames Tribune
Date: 12/11/2007 at 12:28:48

THE AMES TRIBUNE, Ames, Story County, Iowa, Friday, December 7, 2007.

Donald Ray Newbrough, 79, of Ames, died Thursday, Dec. 6 at Mary Greeley Medical Center. He was an attorney with the Newbrough Law Firm and former mayor of the city of Ames. A gathering of family and friends will be at Grandon Funeral and Cremation Care, 414 Lincoln Way, Ames on Wednesday, Dec. 12, 4 to 7 p.m. and a memorial service will be held on Thursday, Dec. 13 at 1:30 p.m. at First United Methodist Church with the assistance of Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.

Mr. Newbrough was born on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 29, 1928, in Troy Township, Wright County, near Eagle Grove. His parents were Harold J. and Grace M. (Moser) Newbrough. He attended Troy Township No. 4 rural school through the eighth grade and graduated from Eagle Grove High School. He attended Iowa State College and received a law degree from the University of Iowa with the Class of 1952. On Oct. 1, 1953, he opened a law practice in Ames at 240 1/2 Main Street and later associated with Harold O. Hegland. He married Donna L. Cowan May 26, 1984, at First United Methodist Church in Ames.

Mr. Newbrough was a member of the Iowa and American Bar Associations and the Story County Bar Association, serving as president, associated with the real estate and probate sections. As a member of boards of several civic organizations he served as president of the Ames Noon Rotary and of the Ames Junior Chamber of Commerce. He helped form the Ames Home Builders Inc., Northcrest Inc., Octagon Center for the Arts, Ames Town and Gown, Ames Chamber Music Association, and Ames International Orchestra Festival Association (AIOFA) and was a member of the board of directors of Todd & Sargent, Inc. He was the recipient of the Christian and Charlotte Peterson Octagon Outstanding Volunteer Award and was recognized by The Tribune as an Unsung Hero. He was a life member of the Vincent, Iowa United Methodist Church and a faithful supporter of Ames Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.

He is survived by his wife, Donna L. Cowan Newbrough; two daughters, Susan (Mitch) Lawrence and their children Nicole (Richard) Thornton and Brandon Williams, of Phoenix, Ariz., and Nancy (Tim) Hamlin and their children Madeleine Rae and Tristan John, of Winchester, Ky.; one step-daughter, Leanne (Dr. Edward) Barnett and their children Graham Edward Donald and Cameron John, of Patricksburg, Ind.; and four great grandchildren, Grace, Olivia, and Charlotte Thornton and Skylynn Williams.

He was preceded in death by his parents and brother, Robert D. Newbrough.

He enjoyed the arts, reading, music, theater, his family, and spent much time with nature in his beloved Newbrough Woods as well as RAGBRAI and canoeing Midwest rivers. The Newbroughs and Weiss's supported the well-received Ames Jazz Party for fourteen years. Traveling nationally and internationally, he enjoyed meeting new cultures and serving his clients. A devotee of non-violence and the philosophy of Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi, he believed violence is rarely a means to resolve disputes. He was committed to peace and the sanctity of service following the Rotary motto of "Service Above Self."
He donated his body to the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics for medical research.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Octagon Center for the Arts, Ames Community Theater (ACTORS), and the University of Iowa Newbrough International Law Scholarship.

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