Aug. 29 golf tourney will raise funds for cancer research

Family starts a golf tournament to raise funds for cancer research

By Kristen Forbes

The Times, Jul 16, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009

“We had an American Dream family and upbringing,” Tigard’s Brian Newton says. “Nothing bad ever happened to us. Things were perfect. You’d see all these tragedies happen around you and you’d never really think it could happen to you.”

Everything changed for the Newton family in March 2007, when Brian’s dad Mike went to the doctor with complaints of a sore throat. After his appointment, he was asked to come back for further tests.

“Basically out of nowhere, we found out it was cancer,” Brian remembers. “It was quite shocking to all of us, to say the least.”

As the next few weeks unraveled, Mike’s health deteriorated rapidly. Apparently the cancer had been in his body for a while and was starting to take over.

“Within three weeks after the time we found he had cancer, he passed away. It was that fast,” Brian says. “There was no time for preparation.”

Just two days before his death, Mike’s cancer was identified as esophageal, a cancer whose incidence rate has risen 350 percent since 1970. An estimated 13,200 Americans are diagnosed with esophageal cancer each year; approximately 12,500 die from it.

Mike Newton was 57. After his death, his wife Jo Ellen and his three sons Patrick, Christopher and Brian were left to grapple with what had happened. In their grief, they came to a conclusion: They couldn’t just sit around and feel their sorrow. They had to do something.

“My brother Patrick and I had always talked about having a golf tournament,” says Brian. “The idea used to be just for fun – an excuse to get a bunch of people together to play golf. We grew up playing golf, and my dad loved golf. After this happened to my dad, probably within a week after it happened, we decided to put something together.”

They formed the Michael J. Newton Esophageal Cancer Foundation, a 501c3 charity devoted to esophageal cancer research. In September 2007, the first Mike Newton Classic Golf Tournament was held. All proceeds from the tournament, which are tax-deductible, went toward esophageal cancer research.

“I think it was that whole idea of not knowing what to do with yourself,” Brian says of the way he and his family responded to his father’s death. “So we put all of our energy into this tournament because it was just keeping us busy and seemed to distract us.”

About 120 people showed up for the first tournament, and donations trickled in. In 2007, the family raised about $30,000 for its foundation.

“A lot of people were emotionally involved at that point,” Brian says. “My dad had a huge network of people he was in touch with. A lot of people were impacted by his loss.”

An avid sportsman and fisherman, Mike was a diehard Notre Dame football, Chicago Cubs baseball and Chicago Bears football fan. It had always been a dream of his to take his three boys out to Chicago to catch a few games. The November before his death, the trip was realized. The Newton men took in Notre Dame and Bears games and walked around Wrigley Field.

“It was a total dream trip,” Brian says. “You look back and think: So why did we decide to do it this year? It’s the last opportunity we would ever have.”

When it came to bonding with his sons, the golf course was Mike’s scene.

“He belonged to a golf course in Molalla called Arrowhead,” Brian says. “The three of us boys were pretty much raised out there. A lot of our one-on-one time was spent on the golf course. For us, certainly the best way to honor him is to put on a golf tournament.”

The summer before the first tourney, the Newtons reached out to OHSU and connected with its esophageal cancer research program. The family decided to put the money from its foundation into the research program fronted by Dr. Blair Jobe. Not long after the first tournament, Jobe transferred to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Knowing it is one of the leading esophageal cancer research centers in the country, the family opted to have its money follow Jobe to that program.

Following a second golf tournament in 2008, the money raised for the Michael J. Newton Esophageal Cancer Foundation to date is around $53,000.

Sponsorships, golf registration, a silent auction and raffle all provide opportunities for the Newtons to raise money for the cause. Brian admits it’s more difficult to ask people to donate money in tough economic times, but he hopes everyone will recognize the value and necessity of the cancer research to be done.

The third annual Mike Newton Classic Golf Tournament will take place Aug. 29 at the Forest Hills Golf Course. Tournament information and registration forms can be found at www.themjnfoundation.com.

Brian, who lives in Tigard and works at Mentor Graphics in Wilsonville, says running a foundation and organizing golf tournaments can be challenging, but he’s proud to put on a family-friendly tournament for a good cause.

“It’s more of a fun tournament,” Mike says. “Our whole idea is not to go out and have this great first prize that people are getting too serious about. It’s really just a matter of getting out on the golf course and having a good time. The Forest Hills course is really laid back. It’s not uptight. It doesn’t make people uncomfortable. We get a lot of people who don’t play very good golf, and that’s totally fine. We just want people to have fun.”

To his wife, sons and daughters-in-law – Donnie and Natalie – Mike will forever be remembered as a husband, father, Chicago fan and golfer.

“He was always the first to congratulate himself on a good shot,” Brian recalls, laughing. “We’d be playing out in Molalla and there’s no one around and he’d make a good putt and tip his hat to the invisible crowd. He was quite a character.”

Brian’s hope is that another family whose life has been impacted by cancer will hear Mike’s story and feel less alone. To find out more about the foundation and tournament, visit www.themjnfoundation.com or contact Brian at briannewton42@gmail.com or Patrick at newton.pat-rick@gmail.com.