David Newton

November 12, 1955 ~ November 18, 2022
David Newton, 67, Test Pilot, died Friday, November 18, 2022. Visitation will be from 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm, Friday, December 9, 2022, at Downing & Lahey East Mortuary. Memorial Service will be at 11:00 am, Saturday, December 10, 2022, at Risen Savior Lutheran Church.Preceded in death by his parents, Marvin and Alma Newton; brother, Brent Newton. Survived by his wife, Maggie Newton; daughter, Patricia Blecha; son, Brent Newton, son-in-law, Alex Blecha; grandchildren, Adlai and Cassandra Blecha; sister, Vicki Bailey; several brothers and sisters-in-law; several nieces, nephews and grand-nieces and grand-nephews.Memorials have been established with: Risen Savior Lutheran Church, 6770 E. 34th St. N., Wichita, KS 67226; Trinity High School, 12345 E. 21st St., Wichita, KS 67206, and Shower Up, 5016 Spedale Court, #235, Spring Hill, TN 37174.
Dave and I became good friends in high school. We had many fun and happy times being in choir together. My condolences to all his family
He spoke of you often, Maryanne, and the fun choir events
Dave was a lovely man. I flew Beechjets with him and we always had a good time together. He was as smart as a whip and a genuinely good person. I am sorry for his loss. It will be keenly felt.
Rusty, ,thank you for the story on your card. That was a great remembrance of a fun day, and he told me about it also. He loved working with the pilots. He was very impressed with you.
I’m glad you received the card. I’m sorry to say I will miss his service as I’ll be flying a jet in Florida, but please know we will be thinking of him.
An outstanding pilot and friend, Dave will be remembered always! His smiled brightened the room and he was a professional and fun pilot to fly with. We miss him greatly and he left us too soon.
Dave was my first boss in the flight test world, 1987 Beechcraft. I was a very inexperienced performance engineer and wanna-be test pilot and learned a lot from Dave. He was patient and kind and extremely knowledgeable. One of the best people I’ve ever worked for or with. He and Bill Vavra introduced me to Calvin and Hobbes, among other more serious things. We had a lot of fun in those early days. Years later Dave worked for me in production flight test at Cessna. Though I was “the boss” this time, I was still the pupil and continued to learn from him and cherish his mentorship. Dave was always a professional and always easy to work with. I will miss him and his easy, infectious laugh. Prayers for Maggie and the family.
Russ Williams
Dave was active in Boy Scout with our sons. He was instrumental in getting them started on the journey to Eagle. Condolences to family and friends. Paul and son David was able to come on Saturday. A donation has been made in Dave’s honor to Shower UP
I first met Dave 10 years ago working a flight test program for L3, and we worked numerous test programs together since then. We were just flying together a few months ago in NC. Whether we were flying , doing analysis, or just sitting in a hotel lobby after a day of testing, I learned something from him every time we spoke. I have learned so much from Dave, and am a better engineer and person because of him. He was an amazing engineer and great pilot. I wish I could have made it to Kansas for the services. I will miss him greatly!