David Emery Newlin

David Emery Newlin went home to be with his Lord and Savior in the early hours of July 13, 2023, at his home in Spartanburg, SC after a lengthy battle with Parkinson’s Disease.  He was born October 4, 1945, in Scottdale, Pennsylvania to the late Herbert E. Newlin and Esther Pritts Newlin.  

David graduated from Scottdale Joint High School in 1963, and earned his BA degree from LaFayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania.  

He started his career with Pittsburgh Des Moines Steel in 1967 and left PDM in 1969 to return to school. He received his Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering at Lehigh University. While at Lehigh, David and Dr. W. F. Chen developed a formula in David’s Master’s thesis that is now used in the AISC steel design manual. After getting his Master’s, David returned to PDM at Birmingham. While at PDM, he was involved in the fabrication of the “forked” columns for the World Trade Center and felt privileged to work with the crew that built the Gateway Arch in St. Louis.  

In 1977, David left PDM and moved to Newnan, GA to work for Brown Steel Contractors, Inc. in the engineering and operation of flat bottom and elevated water storage tanks for municipalities.  

He left Brown Steel in 1984 for Tampa Tank, Inc./Florida Structural Steel in Tampa, FL. David was Vice President of Tampa Tank, and General Manager of General Engineering Corporation, the company that handled the field construction operations. While working for Tampa Tank, he earned an MBA from the University of South Florida, and he also got his pilot’s license. Upon his retirement in 2014, David was senior vice president of Tampa Tank taking the major role in engineering, operation, regulation and management of underground and aboveground storage tank systems. He was a professional engineer registered in nine states and had over 46 years experience in the plate steel design, fabricating and construction industry. 

David was one of the top Tank Engineers in the world. He will leave his mark for many years in the structural steel industry for his mentoring skills in engineering, building, and customer relations.  

In December of 2021, Hillsborough Community College Foundation and Reed Family Foundation established The Allen, Hester & Newlin Endowed Scholarship for Welding & Fitting to honor three respected and influential men in the welding field, commemorating their contributions to the industry and careers at Tampa Tank/Florida Structural Steel.  

David was an avid hunter and enjoyed sporting clay shooting with his friends at the Spartanburg Gun Club and was a Level I Trainer for the National Sporting Clays Association. He enjoyed life and there wasn’t a story he didn’t have for you or a witty comment to serve you.  

David was a member of First Baptist Spartanburg. He had a beautiful voice and loved to sing praises to his Savior. He loved his family and they loved their “Pap Pap”.  He will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him. 

In addition to his parents, David is preceded in death by his brother, Donnie Newlin. He is survived by his wife of 26 years, Janice Bridges Newlin; children, David Edward Newlin of Orlando, FL; Heather Allen (Winthrop) of Spartanburg, SC; Stepchildren; Mary Brown (David) of Fayetteville, GA; Benjamin Bridges (Marjorie) of Lake Wiley, SC; 7 grandchildren; Philip Allen, Jane Allen, Garner Bridges, Wallace Bridges, Joshua Rigsby, Tristan Brown, Morgan Flynn (Jeremy); and his first great-grandchild, Wynter Flynn; sister-in-law Becky Newlin of Scottdale, PA and niece Dana Newlin, as well as other extended family members, and beloved dog, Zeke.  

A Celebration of Life service will be held at 11:00 AM Saturday, July 22, 2023, at First Baptist-Spartanburg, in the Davis Chapel, with Reverend Brian Redding officiating. 

The family would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to Spartanburg Regional Hospice for excellent patient and family care, especially Donna and Cheri. 

The family suggests that memorial contributions be made to Spartanburg Regional Hospice, P.O. Box 2624, Spartanburg, SC 29304 or online at https://www.regionalfoundation.com/ways-give/hospice  

 Floyd’s N. Church Street Chapel