Newburn Franklin Layne

Newburn F. “Red” Layne, 92, of Troup, Texas, passed away on September 27, 2024, at Avalon Memory Care in Carrollton, TX. He was born on February 3, 1932, in Cherokee County, TX, to the late Joseph Albert and Octavia Savanah (Stone) Layne. He married Alice Ruth James on November 22, 1953, in Sacramento, CA.

Funeral service for Newburn Layne will be at 2:00 pm, Saturday, October 19, 2024, at Cottle Funeral Home, Troup, Texas. Burial will follow at Union Grove Cemetery. Visitation will be from 1:00 to 2:00 pm, Saturday, October 19, 2024, prior to the service.

Newburn served in the United States Navy from 1951-1955, and then from 1965-1982. While on active duty, he served on the USS Balduck (APD 132) during Operation “Passage to Freedom” in South Vietnam, where he met and befriended Dr. Tom Dooley; graduated from Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, TX, in the Navy’s Associate Degree Completion Program; and was attached to the Joint United Nations Command in South Korea during Operation “Paul Bunyon.” His awards include the National Defense Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal, China Service Medal (Extended), Joint Service Commendation Medal, and Navy Achievement Medal for his service in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba from 1981-1982. He retired from active service in 1982 as a Senior Chief Petty Officer.

Newburn (Red) joined the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) in 1957 at Post 708 in Fort Worth, Texas and became a Life Member at that Post in 1963. In 1965, he transferred to Post 1475 in Amarillo, Texas and then to Post 3990 in Paris, Texas, in 1968. In 1969, he was elected Commander of Post 3990 and was an All State Post Commander. In 1972, he was elected District 12 Commander. After his retirement from the U.S. Navy in 1982, Red returned to Post 3990 where he was once again elected to District 12 Commander in 1991, being an Honor Roll District Commander, an All State District Commander, and an All American District Commander. In honor of his dedication and commitment to the Texas VFW he was a hand selected recipient of the J.T. Rutherford Award for 1993-1994 (The highest award one can receive in the Texas VFW). Red was elected and served as Texas State Commander for 1997-1998. He then served as Vice Chairman of National Security & Foreign Affairs Committee for 1998-1999 and served as the Department’s Chairman of the State Budget & Finance Committee. He later served as Post 3990 Quartermaster for 2000-2001 & 2001-2002. Red upgraded his membership to Gold Legacy in 2008 and transferred his membership in 2011  to Post 8560 in Sulphur Springs, where he remained a member until his passing.

Newburn enjoyed numerous hobbies that he excelled at. He was an excellent woodworker and built finely-crafted cabinets, frames, clocks, and many other projects. He was also quite accomplished at construction, building two woodworking shops and numerous out-buildings. He also enjoyed tooling leather and leather crafting, playing pinochle, and gardening, sometimes on an acreage scale.

Newburn is survived by his wife Ruth of Tucson, AZ; his children, Charles (Lois) Layne of La Porte, IN, Larry (Ludmila) Layne of Albuquerque, NM, Douglas Layne of Coppell, TX, and Diana Layne (Tom) Baca of Tucson, AZ; sister-in-law Dianne Layne of Troup; four grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; four nieces and three nephews; and numerous cousins.

Newburn was preceded in death by his parents; his sister, Charlene Verla (Layne) McCreight; his brother-in-law, James Harvey McCreight; his brother, Joe Allen Layne; and his brother-in-law Donald Leroy James.

In lieu of flowers, in his memory, please consider donating to the Texas VFW Foundation:

https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=4UCCHNSXF985C

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