Walter Ralph Newell

Mr. Walter Ralph Newell, age 75, of Gainesville, passed away Tuesday, January 29, 2019.

Mr. Newell was born in Hall County to the late James and Charlotte Brookshire Newell.  He was preceded in death by parents, and brother, Eddie Newell.

Ralph was President of Newell Investigative Services from 1982 until his retirement in 2016.  He was a forensic fire analyst and traveled all over the world investigating fires and testifying as an expert witness for his clients.  Prior to that, he achieved the rank of Captain in the Hall County Sheriff’s Department and was also a Patrolman, jailer, chief jailer, and criminal investigator.

Ralph was a member of the International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI), and Georgia Fire Investigators Association (GFIA). He was very proud to have served two tours of duty in the US Army, one in Vietnam and one in Korea and was a recipient of the Purple Heart.   

Ralph was a long-time member of Chattahoochee United Methodist Church, where Ralph and Patty married in 1998.

Survivors include wife, Patty Newell, originally from Houston, Texas; daughter and son-in-law, Lisa and Jason Baker, son and daughter-in-law, Scott and Crystale Nix and their mother, Gerene Adams Cole; and son and daughter-in-law, Rex and Amy Newell and his mother, Dianne Palmer; brother, Raymond Newell; sister, Maria Thomas; six grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.

Memorial services will be held at 1:00 P.M. Saturday, February 9, 2019 at Chattahoochee United Methodist Church in Helen, GA at a later date.  The Rev. Wayne Wilkes will officiate.  Inurnment will follow in the church cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, because of their amazing service, donations may be made to Northeast Georgia Hospice, 743 Spring Street Gainesville, GA 30501.

To share a memory or leave a condolence, please visit barrettfh.com.

Barrett Funeral Home, Cleveland.