Earl New, Jr.

Earl New Jr., affectionally known as “Junior”, passed away on Sunday, March 26th, 2023, at the age of 72, in his home in Saint Paul, MN. He fought a long and courageous battle with cancer with support from his family and friends.

Born on December 31, 1950, in Saint Paul, Minnesota to Earl New Sr. and Ruth Estelle (Williams) New. He was the fourth of five children. As a child he was known to sneak snacks for his siblings to share while attending church every Sunday.

Earl Jr. developed his love for fishing from his parents. Earl Sr. and Ruth would often load all five children into the family station wagon and drive to the best-known fishing lakes in Minnesota. Later in life Earl would enjoy fishing with his longtime partner Elinda Harrison, sister Teresa, lifelong friend Robert (Tabu) Dixon and other family members and friends. He was generous with his catch. He’d even clean and fillet the fish before sharing with family and friends. Of course, by Earl’s account, he always caught the biggest fish!

Earl Jr. attended Central High School in Saint Paul, MN and earned his GED. Earl worked in multiple areas during his career including banking, retail and janitorial to name a few. He loved doing handyman work for his family and others in the community. In his later years he enjoyed his work as the Sexton at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church.

Earl loved his family deeply. He was passionate about staying in frequent contact with all generations of his family, and he’d consistently make phone calls to check-in.

Earl had an individual relationship with each of his children, creating bonds and restoring relationships in their adulthoods. His children will miss talking to him about his love for the Minnesota Vikings, their families, and getting his advice about life, love, and health. He enjoyed spending time with his daughter Darlis at her home in Minnesota, visiting his daughter Tania in North Carolina and his son Dwayne in Ohio.

Utilizing skills he learned as a child, he would often sneak forbidden foods to his sister, Teresa, and another patient during her kidney treatments. He enjoyed sitting with Teresa during her dialysis treatments, providing her support and encouragement.

Earl rarely met a stranger. He was naturally outgoing and friendly. It was common for him to give plenty of compliments to most all women that crossed his path. Despite his sometimes-flirtatious ways, there was truly only one woman that had his heart and that was his mother, Ruth. He never took offense at being considered a “mama’s boy”, and like his siblings, he talked to her daily until she entered her eternal rest.

He loved playing dominoes and depending on who’s telling the story, he either won often or never won. He was notorious for his trash talking, especially with his son, brother, nephews and friends. In his later years he enjoyed frequently playing dominoes with his lifelong friend Robert (Tabu) Dixon.

Earl was a loving grandfather, and he enjoyed every chance he had to spend time with his grandchildren. He cherished teaching Andrew “AJ” how to ride a bike and fish, visiting Amira, Aaron and Hailey in Ohio, spending time with Josh and Jayde, meeting Braxsten for lunches, celebrating a new driver license, and simply being proud of all their many accomplishments.

When it came to his many nieces and nephews, Earl was known for cracking jokes, loading and unloading a truck to help with a move, painting walls to spruce up their places, making needed repairs, attending games, and simply teaching all of them the importance of family.

While Earl struggled at times with life choices, that never kept him from loving his family. Although he sometimes fell, he always got back up with the support and love of his family. He was filled with gratitude for the support of his siblings; Julia for her loving command, Teresa for her friendship, Marcella for her generosity and Philip for his brotherly accountability.

Earl will be missed by all those that loved him.

Earl Jr. is preceded in death by his parents Earl New Sr. and Ruth Estelle New; son, Domonic Bell; former wife, Valgean Rhoden-New ; and longtime partner, Elinda Harrison.

He is survived by his children; Darlis (Michael) Bell-Grass, Colleen New, Tania New, Dwayne (Aletra) Hunter; his grandchildren; Josh, Jayde, Andrew “AJ”, Amira, Aaron, Hailey, Davante, Destinee, Braxsten, Selena, and Alyssa, his siblings; Julia New-Landrum, Teresa (Hezekiah James) Randall, Marcella New, Philip (Melissa) New; a host of nieces, nephews and extended family and friends who will miss him dearly.

Funeral service 11:00 AM Monday, April 3, 2023 at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 1636 Van Buren Ave., St. Paul. Visitation at the church from 10:00 - 11:00 AM Monday.

Interment Roselawn Cemetery.