On Wednesday, August 23, 2023, Isaac Alton Newton III, beloved son, cherished brother, and loving uncle, passed away unexpectedly at the age of 63.
Visitation will be held on Tuesday, August 29 at 10:00 a.m. at Trinity United Methodist Church in Greenville, MS with the funeral to follow at 11:00 a.m.
Ike was born on July 26, 1960, to Dr. Isaac Alton Newton, Jr. and Nancy Ransom Newton in Memphis, TN. In 1963, at the age of 3, Ike moved to Greenville, MS. In his young years, he loved spending his summers with his family in Monticello, MS, fishing with his late grandfather Isaac Alton Newton, Sr., and sitting on the back porch shelling peas with his grandmother, Thelma Allen Newton, whom he adored. Ike attended Washington High School where he was an avid athlete, starring on the football team and excelling in track as a sprinter. Ike’s love of life and big personality made him the life of the party, but it was his endearing personality and depth of love for others that allowed him to develop high school friendships that ran so deep that those friendships have lasted for over fifty years.
After graduating high school, Ike’s white renegade jeep drove him to the University of Mississippi, where he met additional life-long friends in his SAE fraternity and graduated with a business degree. His love for Ole Miss and Ole Miss football is one of the pastimes that he passionately shared with his father until his father passed in 2016. While at Ole Miss, Ike adopted his forever friend, a Doberman named Sheba, with whom he shared many years and adventures.
Upon receiving his degree from Ole Miss, Ike moved to Memphis, TN, and began his life’s journey in finance at First Tennessee. He made his mark, and within two years, he moved to New York and began his life on Wall Street at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette. As he progressed in his career in New York, Ike moved on to First Boston and eventually on to UBS. In 2001, at the age of 38, Ike had become an extraordinarily successful Wall Street executive as a notable bond trader on Wall Street. In March 2001, after declining a job with Cantor Fitzgerald, Ike decided to retire and move to Dallas to be close to family. On September 11, 2001, Ike, being the never-failing friend that he was, heartbreakingly supported many friends on the phone that horrific day, as many were not able to get out of the towers.
Moving forward past that day, Ike spent several years in Dallas where he was able to enjoy his nieces and nephew, whether it was cheering for his nieces on the soccer field or teaching his nephew to play football. Ike took his role as beloved uncle to heart, whether it was being at his sister’s hospital bedside and changing his newborn niece’s first diaper, surviving endless trips to the beach as the never-ending playful uncle, or attending monumental events like Eagle Scout ceremonies and graduations. As one of his nephews commented to one of his cousins, “Uncle Ike is a legend in our house.”
In 2017, Ike moved to Oxford, rejoining his SAE friends cheering on the rebels at sporting events, and spending time on the square with his Colorado niece who attended the university. Ike was back at home with his and his father’s Ole Miss rebels.
Ike is preceded in death by his much-beloved father, Dr. Isaac Alton Newton, Jr. He is survived by his mother, Nancy Ransom Newton of Greenville, MS; sister Nancy Lee Greenleaf (Jim) of Erie, PA; sister Catherine Elizabeth Newton Day (Tim) of Ken Caryl, CO; brother Dr. William Garner Ransom Newton (Beth) of Dallas, TX: and his adoring nieces and nephews – Jimmy, Beth, William, and Mary Catherine Greenleaf: Timmy, Catherine (Hanson), and Anna Day; Brittany, Garner, Ashlee, and Natalie Newton; and his cherished lifelong friends.
Psalm 23:4 – “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
In lieu of flowers, memorials, and donations in Ike’s memory may be given to Trinity Church (850 McAllister St. Greenville, MS 38701) or to the charity of your choice.