Obituary of Mary Frances "Frankie" Newman

Lexington—Frankie Newman was born December 8, 1928 to Estelle Bailey and Manley Heath Ellis, and raised on the farm she loved so much in Heath Springs, SC.   She passed away on March 9, 2019.

A funeral service will be held at 11:00 am on Friday, March 15, 2019 at Cayce United Methodist Church. The family will receive friends before the service on Friday, March 15^th, from 10:00 am – 11:00 am in the Fellowship Hall at Cayce United Methodist Church. Burial will follow at 3 PM at Salem Cemetery 4816 Kershaw Camden Highway, Heath Springs, SC 29058.

Frankie was a graduate of Columbia College with a BA Degree in Education and received her Master’s Degree in Education from USC.

She began her teaching career at Brookland Cayce High School, also coaching girls’ basketball.  She met and later married the boy’s BC Basketball Coach, Tom Newman.  This began a 62-year career with Lexington School District 2. (Teacher, Coach, Guidance Counselor, Assistant Principal, Assistant Superintendent, and Substitute Teacher)

Frankie was an active member of Cayce United Methodist Church; including: President of the UMW, member of the Administrative Board, Missions Work Area, Worship, and Bereavement committees, Sunday School Teacher, Certified Lay Speaker, and numerous other committees.

Honors include receiving the South Carolina Order of the Palmetto in 2009, the state’s highest civilian award, serving on the Will Lou Gray Board of Trustees, Cayce Woman’s Club 50 year pin recipient, receiving the Columbia College Outstanding Education Award, as well as being inducted into both the Brookland Cayce Athletic and Academic Halls of Fame.

Surviving are her sons, Heath (Lee) Newman, Scott (Evelyn) Newman, and Tee (Marci) Newman: grandsons Hamp (Jaime) Newman, Christopher (Anne) Newman, Ian Spradley, Scottie Newman, and Hampton Newman; great grandchildren, Grayson, Sam, Ashlyn and Chase.  In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by her husband, Thomas H. Newman, Jr. and her brother William H. Ellis.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Columbia College, Brookland Cayce High School Foundation, and Cayce United Methodist Church.

“I am so grateful for the wonderful life I’ve lived,” Frankie Newman.