On Wednesday, April 11, 2007, John Newton Brown died surrounded by his loving family at the Santa Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital, after a long illness.

He was born in Tonkawa, Oklahoma on March 27, 1926, and attended Princeton High School in Princeton, Kansas.

In 1946 he married his first wife, Jeanne, and together they raised two children, Michael and Jill.

Newton farmed for many years in Kansas, and worked for Delco Electric before moving to Santa Barbara in 1966. He owned and operated Holiday Maintenance Company until his retirement. In 1977 he married Yvonne Sanchez, and they spent the next 30 years together in a loving relationship surrounded by family and many wonderful friends. Newton was an avid golfer, and was a long time member of the Village Country Club. He was a huge fan of the Lakers, the Clippers, the Angels, and sometimes even the Dodgers.

He was preceded in death by his son Michael. Survivors include his loving and devoted wife, Yvonne, his last remaining sibling Maxine Petty, his daughter and son-in-law, Jill and Dan Peterson, daughter-in-law, Barbara Brown, and grandchildren, Katie, Amanda, Eric, Krysta, and great grandson Rajionne.

He is also survived by his stepchildren, Tom and Janet Sanchez, Sandy Quillin, Dee and Steve Nagelmann, Michael and Marietta Sanchez, Lori and Jim Kibbie, and grandchildren, Chris, Amy, Michael, Michelle, Ryan, Mark, Nichole, Chad, Julian, and six great grandchildren.

A private burial for the family will take place followed by a celebration of Newton's life with friends and family on Wednesday, April 18, 2007 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Village Country Club.

The family requests that donations be made in Newton's name to the Solvang Friendship House, 880 Friendship Lane, Solvang, CA 93463.