Newman Middleton Evans, age 86, passed away on Thursday, August 13, 2026. He was born on August 22, 1939, in Pratt City, Jefferson County, Alabama, to William Middleton Evans and Lorene Newman.
Newman was a graduate of Howard College in Birmingham, Alabama, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree on May 28, 1962. He was also an accomplished pianist and gospel singer, sharing through music talents that remained an important part of who he was throughout his life.
Newman was the father of two children, Stephen Middleton Luckenbach and Heidi Luckenbach. His son Stephen is the father of Newman’s three grandchildren, Gavin S. Luckenbach, Gabrielle C. Luckenbach, and Grayson F. Luckenbach.
Like every life, Newman’s story contained joys and hardships, seasons of closeness and seasons of distance. Yet one of the most meaningful chapters of his life came in the later years, when relationships once separated by hurt were restored through patience, perseverance, forgiveness, and love.
For his son, Stephen, that reconciliation became one of the great gifts of both of their lives. After many years apart, father and son found their way back to one another. Old wounds were forgiven, a relationship was rebuilt, and in the end, there was love, gratitude, and peace.
Newman’s final days provided another gift: the opportunity for family to be present with him, to speak the words that needed to be spoken, and to say goodbye.
His life is a reminder that it is never too late for forgiveness, never too late for reconciliation, and never too late to love one another well.
His family is grateful for his life—for all of it: the good, the difficult, the lessons learned, the healing that took place, and ultimately the love that remained.
Visitation will be from 3 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, August 29, 2026, at Laughlin Service Funeral Home.
God, thank You for our Dad, and for absolutely everything that happened. Your will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven. God rest his soul. Amen.
