James “Jim” Newberry, Jr., BOCP, BOCO, BOCPD, longtime practitioner and Board member for the Board of Certification/Accreditation (BOC), passed away on June 27, 2016.
L. Bradley “Brad” Watson, BOCO, BOCP, LPO, Chair of BOC’s Board of Directors, says, “Jim was an advocate of BOC since we were founded and his contributions to the orthotics and prosthetics (O&P) profession are immeasurable. I had the privilege of learning from him and serving with him on the Board of Directors and I am grateful to have known him.”
Newberry began his career as an orthotist/prosthetist while serving in the United States Air Force after he graduated from New York University. Following his military service, he joined Mahnke’s Orthotics and Prosthetics in Oakland Park, Florida, where he spent more than 40 years as owner, practitioner, and director of orthotics/prosthetics.
Having trained a multitude of orthotists, prosthetists, and technicians, he was well-known and highly respected in the field of O&P. He provided orthoses for athletes of all ages, including the Miami Dolphins, and supplied prop orthotics for Tom Selleck in the 1992 movie “Folks,” which was filmed in Boca Raton, FL. Newberry’s longtime passion was improving the lives of children by providing them with scoliosis orthoses, prosthetic limbs, and cranial remolding helmets. He also established four pediatric orthopedic clinics. In his free time, Newberry enjoyed boating, fishing, scuba diving, and snow-skiing, and volunteered as a youth counselor for his local church.
For more than 30 years Newberry served BOC in numerous capacities. He held many leadership positions for the BOC Board of Directors, including Chair, and was Interim Executive Director after the retirement of BOC’s founder, Donald O. Fedder, DrPH, MPH, BSP, FAPhA. Newberry was a facility accreditation site surveyor, a video practical exam reviewer, and a test development volunteer for BOC’s orthotist, prosthetist, and pedorthist exams.
Newberry also taught courses on therapeutic diabetic shoes, negative casting, anatomy, and gait analysis at many schools throughout the United States. A sought-after speaker, Newberry delivered presentations at events hosted by the American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association (AOPA), the Florida Association of Orthotists & Prosthetists (FAOP), the Pedorthic Footcare Association (PFA), and Medtrade.
Newberry was certified by BOC since 1984, when the organization was founded. As part of BOC’s 30th anniversary celebration in 2014, Newberry was honored for his 30 years as a BOC certificant. In 2015 he was named to the “O&P News 175,” a group of innovators in the field of orthotics and prosthetics.
BOC President & CEO Claudia Zacharias, MBA, CAE, says, “Jim was a dear friend and colleague. He will be missed by everyone at BOC and in the O&P community he so passionately supported.”
Newberry is survived by his wife of 45 years, Lynnene; daughters Toni Lynn Frallicciardi (Uli), Jodi Licudine (Tony), and Paige Newberry; and grandchildren Zion, Kaya, and Eden Frallicciardi.
There will be a celebration of Newberry’s life on Saturday, July 23. Services will be held at Christ Church United Methodist, 4845 NE 25th Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33308 at 2:00 PM, followed by a celebration at McDougald House, 450 NE 10th Street, Pompano Beach, Florida 33061, 4:00-7:00 PM.
The family asks that friends email their photos and stories of Newberry to frallicciardi@comcast.net; in lieu of flowers, they have suggested donations to Holy Cross Hospital’s Neurological Department to research and treat Glioblastoma or to Vitas Hospice, whose caregivers were supportive and caring during the last few months of Newberry’s life.