Mary Newman

Mary Joan Newman (nee Coombs) died, age 86, on May 22, 2023 at her home in Wind Crest in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. Mary Jo, as she was commonly known, was a retired nurse. She was born in Ely, Minnesota on November 9, 1936. Her family, including a younger brother, Mickey, and a younger sister, Kitty, then moved to Superior, Wisconsin and finally settled in Milwaukee where her father, Milton, was an electrician and her mother, Kathleen, was a homemaker and worked in retail.Having skipped grades in elementary school. Mary Jo graduated high school at age 16 and went on to earn her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Marquette University.

With seemingly no job prospects, a place to live, or relatives, Mary Jo and a friend from nursing school picked up and moved to Denver, Colorado. There she met her future husband, James O. Newman, an airline mechanic with Continental. Mary Jo’s first nursing job was at Saint Joseph’s in Denver. Jim and Mary Jo married on April 8, 1961 and had four children: Karen (Ewing), John, Steve, and Kathi (Braun). Jim’s career took the family to Los Angeles for several years and then to the Seattle area for nearly a decade. They ended up back in Denver for the remainder of his career while Mary Jo worked various nursing jobs in both hospitals and a doctor’s office. Over her career she cared for some of the most ill patients in a cardiovascular ward and a short time in oncology.

Mary Jo enjoyed card games, especially bridge, and in later years picked up Mahjong, Hand and Foot, and, really, any game that allowed her to exercise her incredibly sharp mind and to socialize at the same time. She was a devout Catholic and attended mass nearly every day. Her circle of friends were often the “church ladies” who shared her love of Jesus and involved themselves with all functions of the church. They often gathered after morning mass for coffee and doughnuts and/or McDonald’s.

Not only is Mary Jo beloved by her four children but also by her 11 grandkids and three great-grandchildren. She was an extraordinarily hands on grandma who would often traipse around zoos and museums with toddlers in tow, or hop on a plane to share in the highlights and special events of their lives, or even pack up and take her grandkids to the Colorado mountains or New York City. Even after being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis at fifty she never backed down to the illness and fought to spend every moment she could with her grandkids. Every summer, in a tradition started by Jim and Mary Jo, the entire “Newman” clan gets together for a reunion. It is a tradition that will continue on with them in spirit.

Known for her quick wit and brutal honesty, Mary Jo could sometimes be a bit blunt for some people but no one ever questioned her kind-heartedness or her absolute love for her family and friends. She was truly someone who would do anything to help a person in need.

Mary Jo’s parents, her sister, Kitty, and her husband, Jim, preceded her in death. She is survived by her brother, Mickey, and her four children. A Funeral Mass will be held at Saint Frances Cabrini Catholic Church in Littleton, Colorado, on June 23, 2023, at 10:30 a.m. Donations in her honor may be made to Cabrini or to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.