Paul William Newsom, 64, died Wednesday, July 1 at 4:30 a.m. at his home in Bixby, a time fitting of a true outdoorsman. Services were Tuesday, July 7 at 2 p.m. at Asbury United Methodist Church in Tulsa officiated by Dr. Larry DeLay.

Paul was born in Oklahoma City April 8, 1945, and was the only child of John Henry and LaVada Frances Newsom. He graduated from Southeast High School in Oklahoma City and attended Murray State College and Oklahoma State University. He played football in college and later with the Oklahoma City Plainsmen semi-pro football team and briefly with the Atlanta Falcons. He worked as a lineman for Southwestern Bell and later moved into sales and to AT&T.

  Paul and his wife Brenda met in 1981 when she hired him to appear in a television commercial.  Through working together a romance evolved and they were married in May, 1983.  In 1988 their best project together, daughter Emma, was born.

Paul is survived by his soul mate, business partner and wife of 26 years, Brenda; daughter, Emma Newsom; son, Bo Newsom and wife Twolla and granddaughter Rachel Newsom; daughter, Paula Hurt, and granddaughters Alyssa and Carly Hurt; daughter, Dee Bowser, husband Tom and family Mike, Mary Ann and great -granddaughter Macie Bowser; daughter, Jennifer Scalzo and granddaughter Kiley;  numerous cousins; his hunting buddies, close Bixby friends and “second daughters  ”Jenna, Nicole and Alycia.

Paul was the president of Newsom Productions, Inc, an advertising agency and television video production company that he and his wife Brenda established in 1985. He also ran two successful businesses with Greg George, Royal Flush and Firewater Supply Company. Paul was a spokesman for many businesses including Mr. Rooter, Oklahoma Natural Gas, Jim Glover Dodge and Chevrolet and most recently Automax Hyundai. He also appeared in numerous TV shows and feature films including “Dallas,” OETA’s “Oklahoma Passage”, “Dark Before Dawn”, and Max Lucado’s “The Christmas Child.” For over 15 years, he was the host and executive producer of the award-winning “Paul Newsom’s Great Outdoors” TV series. It was a family project as his son Bo worked as co-producer, videographer and editor, and Emma had a featured segment in the show called “Emma’s Emails”. Paul also produced and hosted additional outdoor television and radio programs including “Hunting the Country”, “Outdoor Adventure Digest”, “The Camp Cook” and NRA’s “American Rifleman”.

Paul served on the Bixby School Board and was also a member of the Bixby Optimist Club and Bixby Chamber of Commerce. For 19 years he served on the Oklahoma Lieutenant Governor’s Committee for Economic Development, organizing the annual invitational turkey hunt. He also served as president of the United Sportsman’s Alliance of Oklahoma, president of the Oklahoma National Wild Turkey Federation and president of the Oklahoma City Chapter of Ducks Unlimited. He was a member of the Outdoor Writers Association of America, a lifetime member of the NRA, and was a former hunting guide, retriever trainer and shooting instructor.

Paul’s proclamation that “God is good all the time” was evident in the way he lived his life to the fullest and fought his 2-year battle against cancer with courage and determination. He had a wonderful zest for life, living out his faith wholeheartedly, and was blessed with the riches of family and close friendships.

With his family, Paul was a faithful member of Crossroads Fellowship in Bixby, donations may be made to the church or the Emma Newsom Scholarship Fund at Grand Bank in Bixby. Services are under the direction of Leonard Marker Funeral Home in Bixby.

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