When Kenny Newth’s family looked back on his life and wanted to memorialize it in a meaningful way, their minds went to a sport and a university that he loved.
The Kenny Newth Endowed Baseball Scholarship will benefit an Arkansas Tech University baseball player each year.
The scholarship was established through the ATU Foundation by Kenny’s wife of 45 years, Laura, and their two children, Linzi and Kyley.
Newth was an outfielder for the Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys and an All-Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference selection in 1977 and 1978. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in health and physical education from ATU in 1979.
As he began his career, Newth worked in sales and customer service for Wonder Bread and Frito-Lay. He advanced to own a Little Debbie distributorship.
A portion of his obituary indicates that his final career stop was his favorite.
“But his best love was his last career, a McDonald’s owner/operator for 23 years,” reads Newth’s obituary. “Kenny was a true entrepreneur and loved working with his employees and visiting with his customers. He and Laura worked as a team and won many awards for their operation.”
Those 23 years as McDonald’s owners and operators were invested in Mountain Home. The Newths moved to Buda, Texas, in 2022, to be closer to their children. Kenny passed away in July 2024 from complications of Alzheimer’s Disease.
Those with a desire to contribute to the Kenny Newth Endowed Baseball Scholarship may do so at www.atualumni.com/NewthScholarship or by mailing a check to ATU Foundation, P.O. Box 1105, Russellville, AR 72811 with “Newth Baseball Scholarship” in the memo.
