Candlelight vigil to be held at Langley HS for local security worker killed in Georgetown Pike crash

A beloved 65-year-old security professional killed this week in a crash on Georgetown Pike will be honored with a candlelight vigil in McLean, along with funeral services at the D.C. school where he worked and in his hometown state of Texas.

The family-led candlelight vigil will be held tomorrow (Nov. 20) at 5 p.m. at Langley High School, honoring Fairfax resident Andre Newman, the son of Ray Charles saxophonist David “Fathead” Newman.

Newman was driving east on Georgetown Pike on Saturday (Nov. 13) when he collided with a Range Rover attempting to turn left near Langley High School, police reported. He was taken to the hospital, where he died on Sunday (Nov. 14).

“Andre Newman always seemed to have the light on his side,” said an obituary shared by his daughter. “Born the son of the world renowned Jazz legend, David ‘Fathead’ Newman, Andre knew the weight and gravity of cultivating your personal talents, exhibiting a great work ethic, community servitude and investing into family unity.”

Newman was born in Dallas on May 16, 1956 and earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Bishop College in Marshall, Texas. He moved to the D.C. region to pursue a graduate education at American University, going on to serve as a partial owner of the now-defunct firm Aimats Security Agency.

Starting in August 2002, he worked as a security supervisor at Sidwell Friends, the D.C.-based private school attended by several presidents’ children, from Richard Nixon’s daughters, Julie and Tricia, to Sasha and Malia Obama.

Head of School Bryan Garman praised Newman as a “lifelong learner” who “lived with kindness” in a letter to the Sidwell Friends community.

“A former supervisor of the night shift, he more recently took on mid-day responsibilities, including dismissal,” Garman wrote. “He especially took pride in his meticulous documentation of security incidents and his keen investigative skills.”

Sidwell Friends will have a service at 10 a.m. on Nov. 28. Newman’s Dallas funeral service will be Dec. 5.

He is survived by his wife, Shirleen Newman; his children, Esther Newman, Arianna Newman, and Andre Newman II; and his brothers, Terry, Cadino, and Benji.

Photo via Robert Towell/Flickr