Janet Hamilton Newton, 64, Lawrence, died early Christmas morning of complications from pancreatic cancer. Born May 1, 1955, she was the third child of Glenn and Irene Wall Hamilton and raised on a farm south of Canton, Kansas. She attended and graduated from the Canton-Galva schools, Hutchinson Community College, Wichita State University, and earned a Masters in Social Welfare from the University of Kansas.
Janet worked her entire career in the human services: mental health, post-secondary education, and philanthropy. She married Chris Newton at Faith United Methodist Church, Hutchinson, during a spring snow storm on March 30, 1985. Their family grew to include two sons, Austin and Kevin who now live in Hutchinson and Leavenworth respectively.
She held various leadership and teaching positions at Faith UMC and volunteered on several boards, most recently the Hutchinson Regional Health System and the City Planning Commission. Janet was an avid non-fiction reader and follower of news and politics, enjoyed giving away items she cross-stitched and loved to travel, especially internationally.
She is survived by her immediate family, brothers Gary and wife Debby Hamilton, Wichita, and Randy Hamilton, Canton; mother-in-law Barbara Newton, Hutchinson; brothers-in-law Craig and wife Kristy Newton, Decatur, Tex, and Clint and wife JoAnn Newton, Salina; one nephew and eight nieces and their families, and a host of friends and former co-workers.
A celebration of Janet’s life will be held at 2 pm on Saturday, January 18, 2020, in the Stringer Fine Arts building on the Hutchinson Community College campus. Memorial contributions are suggested to Circles of Hope – Reno County, Hutchinson Community College Technology Scholarship, or Faith United Methodist Church of Hutchinson.
