Rosemary Newman

Dr. Rosemary Kramp Newman, a retired dietician, diabetes educator, Montana State University professor emeritus and author, passed in her hometown of Bozeman, MT on February 12, 2020 at the age of 92.



Rosemary is survived by her husband Walter Newman, her daughter Carrie Miller, her grandchildren Angie Gross (Brian), Amber Keith, Sean Miller, and Jenny Schmitz (Kyler), and her six great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her daughter, Jean Johnston.



Born January 29, 1929 on a dairy farm in New York State, Rosemary was the youngest of five children born to Joseph and Florence Kramp. At an early age, her days on the farm were spent outdoors where she proudly remembered driving a team of horses to gather hay.



Rosemary attended a one room school of eight grades near the farm, and high school at Newburgh Free Academy. She stayed home for two years after graduation from high school to wrangle several horses her father had brought to the farm from Montana. Memories of these horses left a lasting impression on Rosemary, who dreamed of one day living and raising horses in Montana.



In 1950 Rosemary attended the College of St. Elizabeth, receiving her degree in Home Economics. Rosemary later attended Rutgers University, where she received her Master’s and Doctorate in Food and Nutrition in 1961 and 1977, respectively.



After earning her doctorate in 1977, Rosemary packed up her pickup along with her two daughters, Carrie, and Jean. She drove to Montana where she joined the faculty at Montana State University (MSU) in the Department of Home Economics. Her research eventually led her to the College of Agriculture where she met and began working with her future husband, Dr. Clarence Walter Newman. The two demonstrated barley’s ability to lower human blood cholesterol, which was recognized by the FDA in 2006. While working at MSU she became a certified diabetes educator and worked part time as a nutrition consultant at the White Sulphur Springs Hospital for 23 years.



In 1983 she married Walter. They continued their barley research for many years, collaborating on numerous scientific publications and two books. Rosemary and Walter traveled the world promoting barley, even taking a sabbatical in Sweden for six months to conduct barley research. At the young age of 87, Rosemary and Walter published their latest cookbook titled “Barley is Better”, which was aptly named after the pair’s life motto. The book contained barley-based recipes that Rosemary had collected over the years.



Rosemary’s home fires burned brightly at their Brackett Creek residence, where all were welcome, and the coffee was always on. A menagerie of cats, dogs, and horses lived with them over the years (too many to count). Her home on Brackett creek was a beautiful place that brought her much happiness, and she particularly enjoyed sharing it with her family. In 2019, Rosemary and Walt donated a piece of their property to build the Bridger Canyon fire station for their community.

Rosemary was a member of the Shields River Lutheran Church and enjoyed the people of the valley. She was also a member and past president of the Brackett Creek Women’s Club.



Rosemary was well known within the community and will be greatly missed by all.



Services are pending, when it is safer to gather in person.