Rick Newton

Rick Newton

August 8, 1947 – August 1, 2026

It is with deep sorrow we share the loss of Rick Newton. He passed away peacefully in Traverse City, Michigan, surrounded by his wife, Virginia and their three children, Landon, Freddy and Will. He was seven days shy of his 79th birthday. The world of Rick was full of love, purpose, humor, stories, advice and a zest for life. Rick was a generous part of the fabric of Aspen, Colorado that made the community such as special place to live and visit.

Born in Denver, CO, Rick was the third of four children of Mary Emily Tapp and Frederick D Newton. He attended University Park Elementary, Graland Country Day School, Colorado Academy and South High School.

Music was a theme throughout his life. Rick graduated from South High in 1965, and from the business school at CU Boulder in 1970, all while working as a professional musician. Beginning in his teens, his first band, The Daniels, was a popular band in the Denver area and in Aspen. They toured widely, opened for The Association and were featured in Seventeen Magazine. Rick was also a member of the band George. It was on frequent gigs at Galena Street East in the Elks building that first brought Rick to Aspen. In his later years, Rick studied classical guitar and had recently taken up the mandolin.

Rick founded Walnut House Films in 1970. Located in downtown Aspen and eventually moving to 303 S. Galena St, Walnut House Films was named in nostalgia for his college house on Boulder’s Walnut Street. Walnut House was an essential part of Aspen’s central core for over 35 years. He gave many photographers a start in their careers. He was a beloved boss and mentor, making the “Nuthouse” crew a family made up of young people from all over the US, as well as Australia, New Zealand and Sweden. Rick donated countless photographic services to local Aspen organizations, individuals and families. Later, for his 70th birthday, his former employees threw a birthday/reunion party on the banks of the Roaring Fork River. For many, it was a chance to thank Rick for a special time in their lives.

Rick loved hockey ever since sneaking through the Zamboni door to see DU Pioneer games near his childhood home in Denver. In Aspen, Rick started Newt’s Nooners, for weekly pick-up hockey at the Aspen Ice Garden, which he ran for over 30 years. He sponsored the Walnut House hockey team, vying annually for the Pell Cup which he won, numerous times. He coached Aspen Junior Hockey for many years, including coaching his two sons, from Squirts, Pee-Wees, and up to Bantam. Rick taught sportsmanship, how to love the game and is remembered by those who he coached as a role model and as a beacon of positivity. He was so proud of his athletes and always asked after a game “Did you play your hardest? Did you have fun?” Rick served on the board of AJH including as president and helped develop the organization to better serve the growing hockey community of the Roaring Fork Valley.

Rick’s interest in photography drew him to the Aspen Historical Society. He served on the board between 1986-1998, including as president. He helped with the early master plan of a ski museum at the Lift 1A base and getting it on the ballot in 1995. The voters approved, and his legacy will live on when the new ski museum opens at the Life 1A site. For many years he sponsored the Antique Ski Races at Buttermilk, with a .10 cent entry fee. He was also instrumental with the preservation of the Holden Marolt Mining and Ranching Museum.

In 1984 he met Virginia Creighton, of Denver, who had moved to Aspen to work for Sport Obermeyer. They married in 1985 and built a home in Woody Creek, on the banks of the Roaring Fork River, where they raised their three children. Rick loved having his fly rod always at the ready by the back door. After Walnut House closed in 2005, they moved to Old Snowmass. In 2010 they spent a year in Aix-en-Provence, France, enjoying the culture with family and friends.

Since 2017, Rick and Virginia were golf members at Indian Wells Country Club in California. He achieved his lowest single digit handicap in the last years of his life and won his final tournament in April. In the summers, he loved his Tuesday game with friends at the Aspen Golf Club. Winners got a quarter. The Annual Geezer Cup was hotly contested.

Rick knew a thing or two about Judo (brown belt by age 13 from the American Judo Club in Denver), cattle ranching (Jackpot Cattle Company with his best friend Steve Arnold), horticulture (the short lived Aspen plant care company “Dr. Green Leaves” call: 925-LEAF), cards (dealer school in Las Vegas), flyfishing (with George Odier and especially in his beloved Yellowstone), river running ( the Tatshenshini in Alaska), sailing (the coastal waters of B.C.), winter ski trips ( month long adventures in Yellowstone in the 1970’s), how to cook a steak, classic movies, a good practical joke, but mostly how to make and keep friends. He was a member of the Aspen Rotary Club for 36 years serving on the High School Scholarship Committee. They hosted 3 Rotary Exchange students. For over 30 years he discussed books with the DAMN Bookclub of Drinker/Durrance, Andersen, Means and Newton. He served on the board of the Aspen Community Foundation, the Aspen Hall of Fame, and the Aspen ARC Advisory Board. He served on the Gateway Metro District board since 2018, bringing a calm steady, presence with welcome advice and counsel.

After years of enjoying Aspen’s Music Festival, Rick and Virginia had found Interlochen, Michigan. It rivaled Aspen’s summer music but at the lower elevations of the Great Lakes. Rick had battled idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis for three years without complaint, choosing to live life joyfully and without regret. During his final days at Munson Medical Center, Virginia read letters to him sent for his upcoming 79th birthday. A nurse gave Rick a birthday note too: “Your strength, kindness, and unwavering positivity during this difficult time has not gone unnoticed. You’ve reminded me that courage isn’t always loud; sometimes it’s found in actions on the way we care for the people around us.” At the end, he had a chance for final farewells with his family and a few friends.

Rick was incredibly proud of his children, all of whom carry lasting legacies of their father, through art, photography, music, hockey, and humor.

In addition to his wife and children, Rick is also survived by his sister Jill Robinson, his beloved nephew Tim (TR) Robinson, his brothers Doug Newton and Fletcher Newton, and nine nephews and nieces. He will be deeply missed.

A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Aspen Historical Society’s Aspen Snowsports History Museum. Gifts in Memory of Rick Newton will help carry forward the work he helped begin. Please contact the AHS at 970-925-3721 or info@aspenhistory.org.

Please share your thoughts with the family.