CENTER SANDWICH - Reverend James Chandler "Chan" Newton, 66, of Center Sandwich, died Wednesday, May 11, 2011 at Tufts Medical Center in Boston.

Chan was born in Salem, Mass. January 26, 1945, the son of the late James F. and Ruth (Marden) Newton. He grew up in Salem where he attended school, and graduated in the class of 1962. He attended Dartmouth College and was a member of Kappa Kappa Kappa Fraternity. During his junior year, he spent a semester studying in Germany in 1965. He returned to Dartmouth and graduated with the Class of 1966. He enrolled at Crane Theological Seminary at Tufts University. He received a Master's of Divinity both from Crane and Boston University School of Divinity in 1969. He was ordained by the Unitarian-Universalist Church of the Larger Fellowship at Arlington Street Church, Boston in 1969.

His first ministry was raising and caring for sixteen foster children at his Plowshares Farm in Raymond. During the time he lived in Raymond, he was Moderator of the Raymond School District. Chan trained to be an EMT for the Raymond Ambulance Service. He raised award-winning goats; many of them went to the Heifer Project and were shipped around the world. He also had a small lumber business with his son, Dewitt. He was presented the Medal of Honor by the "Union Leader" and "New Hampshire Sunday News" for an "Outstanding Act of Heroism" in 1992.

Chan loved people of all ages, all backgrounds and all faiths. He had the ability to minister to a diverse group of people who were experiencing difficult situations in life. Chan became a mental health case worker at Hampstead State Hospital in Hampstead, and continued to do pastoral counseling, weddings, funerals, and baptisms for dozens of people in the wider community. He then became Hospice Chaplain at Seacoast Hospice in Exeter. He also worked with children and teens in the "Stepping Stones" and "Bridges" grief support programs there. In 1995, he went to work for the Manchester VNA Home Health and Hospice as the Spiritual Care Coordinator, and founded "Camp Phoenix", a summer camp for grieving children and their families. He was awarded "Chaplain of the Year" by the Manchester Counseling Center. He also worked as a hospital chaplain at the Elliot Hospital in Manchester. In 2006, he became Spiritual Care Director at Mary Immaculate Health Care in Lawrence, Mass.

Chan was very clever with words, and wrote many creative poems and stories. He had a passion for the environment and loved working in the woods. He was also a serious woodworker, creating many unique items for family and friends. He enjoyed spending time with his family and friends. One of his hobbies was collecting humorous and true life stories from people.

Family members include his wife of fifteen years, The Reverend Dr. Virginia (Trask) Jones Newton of Center Sandwich; his daughter, Heather Keymba and her husband Henry of Huntsville, Ala.; a step-son, Troy Miller and his wife Julie of Harpers Ferry, W.V.; a sister, Roberta Newton Brown of Watertown, Mass.; five foster children whom he raised, Janice Manley of Scarborough, Maine, Lisa Cheney of Dover, David McMillan of Franklin, David Baldasaro of Plainville, Mass., and Michael Twomey of Phoenix, Ariz.; five grandchildren; nieces, nephews, and long-time friends. He was predeceased by two sons, Benjamin Newton and Dewitt Newton. 

(Published in The Concord Monitor on May 21, 2011.)