Dave Newton

Dave Newton grew up in the American West—Colorado, New Mexico, and hometown San Manuel, Arizona. After high school, his congressional appointment to the United States Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York, would launch him into a lifetime of new vocations and locations. After graduating with a degree in mechanical engineering, a license to sail internationally, and a U.S. Navy commission, Dave served as a reactor operator on the N.S. Savannah, the country’s only nuclear-powered commercial ship.

After obtaining pilot licenses while in Galveston, Texas, Dave activated his Navy commission and was sent to Pensacola, Florida, for flight training. He then spent 22 years in the Navy. As a Navy aviator, flying the A6 Intruder off aircraft carriers, he says, “I couldn’t believe they paid me to do it!” When he retired from the Navy, he kept flying and spent 13 years as a United Airlines pilot.

Dave has three children. One daughter is a UVA business school graduate, living in Virginia Beach. Another daughter, a Virginia Tech grad, lives in Middlebury, Vermont, where her husband coaches the Middlebury College ski team. Dave’s son, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, became a Navy test pilot and now flies 777s for Federal Express. After Dave’s wife died, he married Barbara, a family friend from Bedford, Virginia, who had also lost her spouse.

Dave and Barbara enjoy bike riding and invite other residents to join them.