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Newton’s life remembered through speaker

By Staff | Apr 28, 2009

Author John Sheppard, a third-generation Lee County resident, shares stories from his latest book, “One Man's Family in Early Fort Myers” at the Burroughs Home recently.

Long-time Fort Myers Beach resident Jim Newton lived a long life; enlisted in the Army during World War II; married his wife, Ellie, during that time; but was best remembered for his true devotion of purity, love, unselfishness and honesty, according to author and third-generation Lee County man John Sheppard.

Sheppard was the guest speaker at the annual meeting of the Uncommon Friends Foundation at the Burroughs Home in Fort Myers Thursday, April 23.

He shared stories from his latest book, “One Man’s Family in Early Fort Myers,” about his recollections of his relationship with the Newtons.

Sheppard, who was Newton’s long-time friend and attorney, reviewed the history of the uncommon friendships between Newton, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone. He then reflected on his personal association with the deceased Beach visionary.

“My grandmother was a very close friend to Mina Edison,” said Sheppard. “Going back to about 1920, Jim Newton and two men by the name of Snell were digging ditches for water pipes at the Edison Park Subdivision. Jim was the real estate person and made an impression on Thomas Edison when he noticed him digging with his tie on, his white shirt and his sleeves rolled up.”

Sheppard said the two men -even with the age difference- bonded quickly. Newton, who Sheppard’s mother referred to as “that young man Jimmy Newton” and “a pretty hot number,” became close friends with Edison, Firestone and Ford, according to Sheppard.

“In 1929, Newton went with Firestone to be real estate supervisor of all Firestone stores all over country,” he said. “He enlisted in the army when World War II came, was married to Ellie while in the Army and his Best Man was Charles Lindbergh.”

While in the service, Newton became involved in Moral Re-Armament, a modern, nondenominational revivalist movement to deepen the spiritual life of individuals and encouraged them to continue as members of their own church.

“Jim was involved in that up until his death and I’m convinced that his experience with Moral Re-Armament and the people there from all over the world had a significant impact on his life and, in turn, had a significant impact on the lives of the uncommon friends,” said Sheppard.

According to the author, the four principles of MRA are absolute honesty; absolute purity; absolute unselfishness; and absolute love.

“Jim was all about ethics and honesty,” said Sheppard. “I became a real close friend of Jim a number of years before he passed away. Shortly before he died, he was a little concerned that he had to be absolutely pure, absolutely unselfish and absolutely loved. I know he was finally convinced (in the end).”

According to Sheppard, Newton returned to the area after the war in 1963.

“When he came back to Fort Myers in 1963, he was broke because they didn’t really pay him anything while he was in Moral Re-Armament,” he said. “But, of course, he had the connection with Ford, Edison and Firestone and the others. He established his real estate license and business, and he quickly grew it into the largest office in Lee County.”

Sheppard recalls the energetic quality Newton possessed.

“He was so enthusiastic and so positive,” he said. “Every time he came into my office and you asked him, ‘How are you doing, Jim,’ he’d reply, ‘110 percent,’ and then he would always say, ‘The best is yet to be.’ He could sell you anything.”

Sheppard then reflected on one of his first dealings with Newton.

“The first time he came into my office, he brought in a man named Leonard Santini who was a father, devoted catholic and fisherman. Santini was a loving, caring man who -if anybody asked for the shirt off his back- he would tear it off right there.”

Sheppard recalled Santini being a penniless man who would do anything for his religion and actually gave one of his two mules to a priest to help build a church in Fort Myers. Santini and Newton would become quick friends and business partners.

“From that point on, they would play in various enterprises and (Santini) became quite wealthy,” said Sheppard. “In 1972-73, Santini wanted Newton to build him a three-building condominium on Fort Myers Beach. Condominiums were rare then and, in fact, that was the first major project on the island.

After conferring with their then-lawyer Sheppard, the two built the large condo unit, sold it, and built the shopping center known now as Santini Marina Plaza. Santini left a major part of his wealth to the community, according to Sheppard.

“My family relationships have been both with the Edisons and with the Newtons,” said Sheppard. “Jim and Ellie were two of the finest people that I was ever privileged to know.

Jim Newton, who lived until age 94, wrote the book “Uncommon Friends” about his adventures with Edison, Firestone, Ford, Lindbergh and Dr. Aleix Carrel, who received the 1912 Nobel Prize in medicine and physiology.

The Uncommon Friends Foundation, established in 1993, is a character education foundation whose mission is to instill ethics, moral values and a sense of purpose in tomorrow’s leaders. The foundation is dedicated to enriching society by promoting the positive values author and real estate magnet James D. Newton discovered in the five unique men.