Newton Cope, Sr. was the Chairman of the Board of the Huntington Hotel on Nob Hill in San Francisco, California. He was Ito's sponsor when Ito decided to flee Argentina and make a new home in the US. Mr. Cope did this because a few years earlier, in 1943, Ito had been his instructor at Thunderbird Field in Scottsdale, Arizona. Because of Mr. Cope's kindness, Ito and the rest of his family got a new start in the US.

Ito, his wife Malena, and their two kids, Mariana and Miguel would later become naturalized US citizens. On April 28, 1955, their third child, Alan, was born. Ito wrote his old friend a letter saying explaining that as a gesture of thanks for his sponsorship and help, Alan had been given the middle name Newton. A few days later, a silver cup came in the mail to celebrate the birth. The cup was engraved: Alan Newton, April 28, 1955. Along with the cup, was a note addressed to the newborn, Master Alan Newton Pagliere in Bayside, New York:

Dear Alan Newton,

We were very thrilled upon learning of your arrival, and very touched that your parents gave you the name "Newton". But I'll bet they don't know that you arrived on Newton's birthday -- just 33 years later, on April 28th! A very happy co-incidence!

Here's every wish for a full and happy life in your new country and congratulations to your proud and lucky family!

Mr. Cope and Alan kept up a correspondence over the years that continued until Mr. Cope's death on November 23, 2005. The photo of Mr. Cope was sent by him recently in June of 2002.

The latest amazing twist to this story is the following. On June 13, 2005, Alan found an envelope in his office mailbox from Newton Cope. Inside was a letter, hand-written on an antique-style letterhead for an old brewing company. Mr. Cope had never known anything about Alan's history in brewing. The letter was a belated birthday wish, for Alan's 50th, along with a gift. Alan called Mr. Cope immediately to thank him and tell him of another two coincidences they now shared. The small one about the brewing connection, the much bigger one: that Mr. Cope had decided to write this belated birthday note on June 7, the very day Alan's mom, Malena, died.