Alumni Spotlight: Ray '57 & Patricia "Patty" (Boekhaus) '58 Newton
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| Ray and Patty Newton, in their left hands, are holding their two bachelor’s degree diplomas—the top one with the Fort Hays State College name. The bottom diploma was issued after the Board of Regents and Kansas legislature gave the institution university status in 1961. In their right hands, they hold certificates honoring them as “Who’s Who Among Students in American College and Universities.” Each received the certificates during their senior years. |
Ray and Patty (Boekhaus) Newton, Prescott, Ariz., proud Tiger supporters, share their journey from the classroom to a life full of opportunities and adventures in the March alumni spotlight.
Ray graduated in 1957 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, while Patty graduated in 1958 with a Bachelor of Music degree. In 1961, Ray completed a Master of Science degree in communications at South Dakota State University. From 1971-73, he attended the University of Texas at Austin as the recipient of a Walter Graduate Fellowship.
Patty earned a Master of Arts degree in counseling and music from New Mexico Highlands University in 1970.
Both the Newtons praise their undergraduate experiences at FHSU. Patty credits the strong academic curriculum, combined with an intensive instrumental and performance emphasis, with giving her practical, yet comprehensive personal and professional skills. Ray says that the broad and demanding liberal arts education gave him a solid foundation which made possible a rewarding, wide-reaching career in higher education and mass communications.
For Patty, a day without music is a bad day. Trained in piano, organ and clarinet, she had 30 years of teaching experience in public schools before retiring. Her ongoing achievements resulted in her being selected as an “Outstanding Young Woman of America.” She was named an “Arizona Music Teacher of the Year” in 1989 by the Arizona Music Education Association. A church organist for the past 35 years, she also is a pianist for the Prescott POPS Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, she accompanies students for various musical competitions and performances. She further has sung with and accompanied the Prescott Master Chorale, including performing in two European Concert Tours.
Beyond music, Patty has been a member of PEO, an international philanthropic organization dedicated to supporting women in higher education programs. She and Ray also frequently travel abroad; they have visited most nations in Europe in addition to trips to Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Canada, and most recently, China.
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| Patty (Boekhaus) Newton in her graduation gown in 1958. |
While in China this past August, they were boarding a plane in Beijing for the return flight to the U.S. They glanced up, and there it was, a T-shirt with the conspicuous Tiger and “Fort Hays State University” spelled out below it. They stopped the Chinese student wearing the shirt to chat with him. Enrolled in the FHSU partner program in China, he was headed to Kansas to visit the home campus.
“He seemed delighted to meet strangers who knew about FHSU and vigorously shook our hands as he described - in excellent English - what he said was the most exciting educational experience he had ever had,” the Newtons said.
Ray has an intense passion for writing, reporting and editing. He has worked for newspapers, magazines and television, writing hundreds of articles and feature stories. He has also contributed to both popular and professional publications, several textbooks and academic journals. Ray was also the editor for the best-edited book, Damn the Rejections: A Bumpy Road to Publication, in the 2009 USA Book News National Best Book competition. He is the former national coordinator-director for Reader’s Digest Writing Workshops. He has been a committee member for the Society of Professional Journalists and the Associated Press Managing Editors. He is cited in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Education and other biographical indices.
He has received several recognitions including a 1984 University Professor of the Year from the Arizona Newspaper Association, a 1986 Distinguished Faculty Award from Northern Arizona University, a 1987 National Teaching Award from the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, and a 1993 Alumni Achievement Award from Fort Hays State University.
He has consulted nationally and internationally for many organizations, most recently the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Park Service, U.S. Department of Interior, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, North Central Association, Arizona Tourism Office, Arizona Department of Commerce, Arizona Department of Education, Yavapai College, City of Prescott, and Arizona Board of Regents. His consulting has taken him to the Netherlands, Britain, Romania, Bulgaria and much of the South Pacific.
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| Ray Newton in his graduation gown in 1957. |
Ray is also a former national vice president and board member of the National Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, a former vice president and board member of the Western Social Sciences Association, and a former area coordinator and national board member for Phi Delta Kappa International Education Association.
The Newtons echo each other about why they chose FHSU for their undergraduate degrees. Patty chose Hays because she had such an exceptional experience at the High Plains Music Camps and because the then Director of Admissions, Standlee Dalton, offered her an academic scholarship. Patty was active in the “Marching 100 Band,” concert band, clarinet choir, orchestra, choir, madrigals, Fort Hays Singers, Alpha Sigma Alpha, Sigma Alpha Iota, the Women’s Leadership Society, and the National Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi.
Ray said he loved FHSU’s reputation as being “…student focused—and very affordable.” Ray was a member of Lambda Iota Tau literary society, Interfraternity Council, Sigma Tau Gamma, FTA, Drama Club, the Leader staff and was on the Dean’s Honor Roll. He also was a member of Seventh Cavalry.
The Newtons' favorite recollections of FHSU are two-fold: social and academic. Socially they both cherish their memories - memories more than 50 years old - of the “…tremendous entertainment series brought to Sheridan Coliseum, Sadie Hawkins Day, Leap Week, the All Greek Sing, Corral Day, and the student dances on weekends and during Homecoming activities.” Academically, they agree that the “...sincere, dedicated, genuine and exceptional personal and professional interaction with faculty and administration had a positive and profound influence on our lives and careers.”
They said, “As we’ve grown older, we’ve gained perspective and understanding of the quality, the intensity and the value of the all-embracing academic program provided by FHSU. We’ve been affiliated in one way or another with higher education institutions during most of our professional lives. We’re proud to say we have degrees from Fort Hays.”
The Newtons have been married 55 years and have three children: daughters Sheri and Lynn, both married, and son William, who died in 1986. They have four adult grandchildren - two granddaughters and two grandsons. They feel blessed that all the immediate family live in Arizona. The Newtons hold Gold-Life membership status with the FHSU Alumni Association.
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FHSU Director of Gift Planning Brad Botz had lunch with Ray and Patty Newton when he visited Arizona during February 2012.
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