Clifford Carl Newton

Longtime Ridgecrest resident Clifford Carl Newton passed away May 5 2024 in Las Cruces, New Mexico. He had been in poor health for some time and was in hospice care at the end.

Cliff was born September 10, 1946, in Lindsay Oklahoma to Pat and Louise Newton.  In 1952 the family began a westward migration that included stops in Chandler, Arizona, then Pond, California and Delano, California.  They arrived in Ridgecrest in 1957.  Cliff grew up in Ridgecrest, where he attended James Monroe School and Burroughs High School.  He married Carolyn Harkey in 1964 and they had two children, Sheila Deon and Steven Wayne.  He joined the local Sea Bee reserve unit, and subsequently went regular Navy.  During the Viet Nam war he served aboard the aircraft carrier USS Oriskany as a machinist's mate.

Following his military service, Cliff worked at China Lake in the Supply Department and in the Michelson Laboratory photo lab.  He subsequently left civil service and worked as a big rig truck driver until his retirement. Along with his son Steven, in 2016 he moved to Deming, New Mexico, where he resided the rest of his life.

Cliff enjoyed fishing, and did some hunting and golfing.  He played fast pitch softball and bowled in local leagues for years, and bowled the state tournament a few times. He served as a Little League coach in the 70's. He got into the Citizen's Band radio boom in a big way, with radios in his vehicles and a base station at home.  His handle was "Sooner," and Carolyn's was "Later." When conditions were right, he liked "shooting skip" and talking to CBers across the country.

Cliff was preceded in death by his parents, and his older brothers Paul and Larry.  He is survived by his former wife Carolyn; his sisters Bertha and Rose, and his brother Ken; his son Steven Newton and daughter Sheila (Roman) Revels; granddaughter Dezi (Evan) Salmonds and grandson Stevie Newton; five great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews. No services are planned at this time.