Community mourns passing of Alan Newhouse, 88
Alan Ingraham Newhouse, 88, passed away peacefully January 2 at home with his wife, friends and family at his side. Alan was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Feb. 13, 1919 to Edgar and Elizabeth Fry Newhouse. His father was in charge of mining for the Guggenheims. He spent his youth in Rye, New York, summering in Nantucket where he met Kim Loring, his friend of 80 years with whom he spent his last day. They both sailed Nantucket waters and spent many days hunting on the moors. Alan attended Rye Country Day, Choate School and graduated from Princeton with the Class of 1941. He served in the Merchant Marine during WWII.

In 1943 he married Virginia Sharp whom he met on Nantucket. They moved to Bellaire, Texas, where he started his own freight forwarding company, South Ports Forwarding Company, which was eventually merged into Behring International with over 100 offices in the United States and around the world. He opened an office in Rhiyad, Saudia Arabia, where he and Virginia lived for three years.

In 1982 he sold Behring International and bought his beloved 46-foot CSY "Whistler" and commercally fished in the Caribbean until he began winter cruising in the Caribbean, Guatemala, Belize and the Bahamas. Many Nantucketers crewed with him, including Arnie Seaquist, Bill Stevens, Al Borneman, Bruce Coursen, Alan Worden, Melissa Wickser, Larry Miller, Steve Marcoux, Dave Dubock, Marc Dawson, Mark Duffield and many others.

Worden is deeply saddened by the loss of his friend, but holds many fond memories of their times together.

"He was probably my best friend. He was the kind of guy who really transcended relationships - sometimes you felt like he was the grandfather you never had, sometimes he was your father and sometimes he was your friend," said Worden. "I think that was because of his ultimate optimism. I don't think I ever saw him but happy about the day before him and he wanted to have fun. He loved Nantucket and all the island had to offer, but he made fun a priority. He was truly an individual believer. He believed in the power of an idea and the ability of an individual to follow that through. If he determined it was a good idea he would dive in and do it, and I think there is a message in there about the power to change a community. He was ultimately impactful."

Alan's contributions to the communities in which he lived were many. He and Virginia were founders of the Friends of the Bellaire Community Library. Alan and his friend Val Thompson started a tennis clinic for the neighborhood kids on the public courts. He was a volunteer at Bentaub Hospital. He was President for many years of the World Trade Association in Houston. In Nantucket he was voted Man of the Year by the Rotary Club.

In Nantucket, Alan's contributions to the sailing community are legend. He was a founding member of Nantucket Community Sailing which now teaches over 700 children how to sail each summer. He revived the Rainbow fleet by fixing up Rainbows for any owners who agreed to race, and he was the leader of the Sunday Rainbow Parade for the Opera House Cup. He was single-handedly instrumental in reviving the Indian class, having a mold made and reproducing fiberglass copies. There are as many as 18 Indians now racing because of him.

Alan was often the winner of the Rainbow and Indian series with his crew Nat Philbrick, Alan Worden and Nick Judson and Allen LaFrance.

Judson said his and Alan's family knew each other from before the time Judson was born. About 10 years ago Alan encouraged Judson to become involved with Nantucket Community Sailing, of which he is now executive director.

"The thing I value about Alan is that he was such a great people person. He had a dynamic quality to bring people together for a common goal. That was certainly true with Community Sailing, but for everything he has done," said Judson. "Whatever he touched he seemed to always have a positive focus. Everyone around him would embrace it. I wish there were more people out there like Alan Newhouse, and I hope all his friends can help keep his legacy for working together. He was a very caring individual, always interested in everybody and everything. In the last couple of years we'd meet for breakfast and talk. He was such a voice of reason and such a mentor. I wish in my life I could do a fraction of what he's done. He has just been extraordinary. And there was a fun-loving, impish nature to his personality - he always had a little smirk. He saw how to make the most miserable work fun. If Alan was doing it you knew it would be fun."

Alan also enjoyed playing tennis with Hank Irvine, the Nantucket Yacht Club tennis pro, and with the Wednesday men's group.

In 1999, Alan married Sondra Cross. They met playing paddle tennis in Nantucket and were married eight years. During that time they traveled to Europe and Belize. They enjoyed entertaining by holding many waffle breakfasts for their friends and delighted in sharing their Nantucket and Vero Beach homes with friends who traveled to see them.

Alan's ROMEO and Thursday Lunch Bunch were highlights of his week. He also enjoyed his beekeeping with friends Jim Gross and Ernie Latham. Longtime friend Dual MacIntyre admired Alan's wit, his down-to-earth principles and his philosophy on life.

"He was a wonderful man. Two things stick out in my mind when I think of him: he was always jolly, always upbeat about things. It was infectious. And he was a great sailor but he was never afraid of doing the dirtiest, least attractive jobs. He was a wonderfully positive man. Anyone who came in contact with him thought of him as a treasured uncle. He was just great to be around. I remember several years ago when Community Sailing started they were moving floats to the Boat Basin in March for the school kids to use for practice. Alan's boat flipped over and he went in the water. The Coast Guard got him out, but it didn't faze him. He just went home and changed his clothes and came right back to work."

Alan's life was a happy one, enriched by his family, friends and the community. He was predeceased by Virginia Sharp, his wife of 54 years, and a brother, Edgar Newhouse. He is survived by his four children: Nancy Newhouse, Gerry Newhouse, Deborah Dunham and Christopher Newhouse, and their spouses, four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his wife, Sondra Cross, three step-children, Tiffiny Vittorini, Holly Hanlon and Daphne Borowski Muller and five grandchilden.

A funeral Mass will be held at Holy Cross Catholic Church in Vero Beach. A memorial service will be held in Nantucket next summer. Donations may be made to Nantucket Community Sailing, which is setting up a scholarship in Alan's name, and

to Hospice of Vero Beach. I