Dr. Frank J Newman

NEWMAN, Dr. Frank J.
Of Climax Frederick Francis John "Doc" Newman passed away at his home on Tuesday, September 27. He was 76 years old. Frank was born in Toronto, Canada on June 20, 1935, to Francis Marcus and Dorothy Physellus Newman. After completing grade thirteen at Humberside he traveled to Ft. Lauderdale, FL as a diver in hopes of receiving a scholarship. He was awarded a gymnastic scholarship to the University of Michigan where he majored in English and minored in Music. He then moved on to Wayne State University to study medicine and served his internship and general residency at Bronson Hospital. He completed his Plastic Surgery residency in at Ol' Miss in Jackson, Mississippi and moved back to Kalamazoo, where he started his own practice and a long and distinguished career as one of the foremost burn specialists in the nation. He was instrumental in establishing the Burn Unit at Bronson Hospital in 1973 and over the years pioneered many techniques and procedures rising to the forefront of innovative plastic surgery, outpatient treatment and trauma work-becoming one of the first to do microsurgery in the seventies
In the early eighties his love of the human form took him in a new direction. He began sculpting. He had always had a love of art and sculpting allowed him the ability to capture the beauty of a moment in time. He sat on the Board of the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts for many years.
In the mid eighties, he returned to one of his first loves, diving. He began coaching at Plainwell High School and over the years has had many divers compete and place at both the state and national level.
Through all of these activities he still found time to travel to Central America to do volunteer surgeries, donate time to a girls camp in northern Wisconsin as camp doctor, travel in support of WMU men's gymnastic team and stitch up players of the Kalamazoo Wings hockey team as well as be an amazing husband and father. He was not the kind of man to take the easy road it was never the road to respect.
He is survived by his sister Isobel, his wife Sandra, their eight wonderful children and three incredible grandchildren. A wake celebrating his life will be held at three o'clock p.m. on Sunday, October 9 at the Cityscape Event Center, 125 S. Kalamazoo Mall, Kalamazoo, MI. Donations may be made to any of the following groups: American Heart Association, Great Lakes Burn Camp or R.E.I.N. Therapeutic Riding. Arrangements were entrusted to Langeland Family Funeral Homes.