Richard Newberg

Richard Randolph Newberg passed away peacefully on March 6, 2015 in Williamsburg, VA. He was born June 3, 1926 at Saint James, MN to parents Edgar and Emma (Somers) Newberg. He was baptized and confirmed at East Sveadahl Lutheran Church. Richard was united in marriage to Barbara Helen Copeland on February 10, 1951 in Minneapolis, MN. Richard served as an Electronics Technician in the Navy during World War II, and continued in the Naval Reserves until 1986. Richard graduated from St. James High school in 1944, and was a track and football star in High School, and a Navy and Golden Gloves boxing champion during and after WWII. He received his BA, MA and PhD in Economics from the University of Minnesota. He was a professor of at SD State and The Ohio State University. Dr. Newberg joined the foreign service in 1962, working for US Agency for International Development and the Department of State for over three decades. Dr. Newberg worked as an economist and diplomat in over seventy countries. He received the Brazil's Jose Bonifacio de Andrada e Silva award for his contributions to rural development in that country, as well as Superior Honor awards from USAID for his work in Asia. Richard was a humanitarian, first and foremost. He never forgot his modest roots growing up on a Minnesota farm during the Depression. Even as he worked with the highest echelons of foreign governments to raise nations to self-sufficiency, he was tireless in his efforts to develop and implement programs to give rural people a path out of poverty. Richard was preceded in death by his wife, Barbara, his parents, Edgar and Emma, his brothers Allen, Robert, Douglas, Ronald and Nedford, and his sisters Helen Knake, Ruth Evers and Doris Johnson. Richard is survived by his sister, Doraine Starks of St. James, MN, his children Mr. and Mrs. Richard Newberg Jr and Kim Ball of Toano, VA and Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Newberg of Cincinnati, OH, and his grandchildren James Ball, Llana Giagnacovo, and Christine, Kathleen, Alexander and Sophia Newberg, his great-grandson, Rocco Giagnacovo, as well as many beloved nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the Alzheimer's Association (alz.org). Visitation 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm Wednesday, March 11, 2015 Augustana Lutheran Church- St. James 603 Armstrong Blvd. N. PO Box 151 Saint James, Minnesota, United States 56081 Service Information 1:00 pm Wednesday, March 11, 2015 Augustana Lutheran Church- St. James 603 Armstrong Blvd. N. PO Box 151 Saint James, Minnesota, United States 56081 Interment Information Mt. Hope Cemetery, St. James S. CR 27 St. James, Minnesota, United States