Obituary of Charles Michael Newman

Charles Michael (Mike) Newman, 83, died Tuesday, September 25, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was born February 12, 1935, in New York City to Arnold Seymour (Cy) and Evelyn Florence Newman. He was the oldest of nine children and is survived by two brothers and three sisters: Joseph, Indianapolis, IN; David, Reno, NV; Carolyn (Pat), San Diego, CA; Valerie, Sierra Madre, CA; and Laura (Coleman), Las Vegas, NV. Two brothers, Richard and Theodore, and one sister, Jesi (Steward) predeceased him. Mike is survived by his wife of 59 years Judith Newman of Las Vegas; 6 children - Theodore, Fairfax, VA; Leslie (Weishar), Las Vegas, NV; Lawrence, Alexandria, VA; Jonathan, Ashland OR; Kellyann Bell, Falls Church, VA; and Michelle Bell, Las Vegas, NV. Two sons, Richard and Andrew, died as children. He has 10 grandchildren, 4 great grandchildren, and more than 40 nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews. The family moved frequently during his childhood and he had lived in, among other places, New York, Florida, Louisiana, Iowa, and Virginia. He graduated from Long Beach High School in NY in 1953 and New York State College for Teachers in Albany, NY, in 1959. On July 3, 1959, he married Judith Marie Fichthorn of Alexander, NY. He taught for three years in Petersburg, VA, and then went to work for the Department of the Navy in Mechanicsburg, PA. He spent two years there and then was moved to Great Lakes Naval Training School, where he and Judith lived in Mundelein, IL. In 1967, he was transferred to Washington, DC, and the couple moved to Arlington, VA. He spent the rest of his career working for the Navy and the Department of Defense, and ended his career in 1996 at the Pentagon, working in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. The family lived in Fairfax, VA for 43 years, until Mike and Judith moved to Las Vegas in July 2018. After his retirement from the government, his great avocation was youth soccer. He was a coach, a referee, a referee assignor, and a mentor to several generations of youths and referees. He and Judith were full time referee assignors for the National Capital Soccer League and the Washington Area Girls Soccer League starting in 1996. They also assigned referees for a number of high-level youth soccer tournaments. They retired from NCSL and WAGS, and Mike became the Referee Assignor Coordination for the Virginia State Cup and assigned the referees for the northern area of State Cup. He also refereed for the Commonwealth Soccer Officials Association, which assigns high school referees in Northern Virginia. He became the oldest certified referee in Virginia and refereed his last game June 17, 2018 In the Fairfax Police Youth Club Father's Day Tournament. Over the years, he coached youth teams for FPYC, Vienna Youth Soccer, Southwest Youth Club, and Braddock Road Youth Club. His last team was the BRYC Blaze. Mike was also selected as a volunteer for the soccer games for the Olympics. In addition to soccer, he loved playing poker and was a participant in several local games. A memorial service will be held at Kraft Sussman Funeral Home, 3975 S. Durango Dr, Suite 104, Las Vegas, NV 89147, on October 21 at 11 AM. Another memorial service is being planned for Virginia in the spring of 2019. The family requests donations in lieu of flowers be made to Nathan Adelson Hospice, 4141 Swenson St, Las Vegas, NV 89119.