"I started renting from Barb around 2003. I continued renting from her until she sold the properties. During the time I like to say we became friends. If she ever needed anything from a light switch to be changed, to a lawn being mowed to snow being plowed out at her house she would call me to come help, sometimes I think did it just because she would like nothing more than to just sit and talk and joke. She was for sure one of a kind and will forever be missed and never forgotten. "
In loving memory of
Barbara Newsum
April 5, 1930 - May 9, 2023
Barbara Ann Newsum, 93, of Fort Dodge, peacefully passed away on the morning of May 9th, 2023 at Friendship Haven.
Funeral services will be 10:30 a.m. Tuesday May 16, 2023, in the chapel of Laufersweiler Funeral Home. A private burial will be held at Corpus Christi Cemetery. A visitation will be 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. Monday, May 15, 2023, at the funeral home.
Barb was born on April 5, 1930 in Fort Dodge, Iowa to Earl Gill (E.G.) and Mabel (Anderson) Fletcher and was the fifth child of seven (four girls and three boys). She attended Fort Dodge Schools and graduated with the High School class of 1948. She went on to work for the Bell Telephone Company as an operator before meeting her future husband. Barb married Tom Newsum on November 23, 1950, and the couple made their home in Fort Dodge where they raised four children. Her husband owned and operated Newsum Construction Company and Barb worked as the company's bookkeeper in addition to being a homemaker. After Tom's untimely passing in 1979, Barb, at the age of 48, took over the management of her husband's business. For nearly 40 years and into her 80s, she owned and operated multiple apartment buildings in Fort Dodge. While dealing with hundreds of tenants during that time, she also routinely hired and worked with numerous local contractors and subcontractors.
While this was a full-time job on its own, Barb was able to stay very active in her children's and grandchildren's lives while they were growing up. In addition, she had a variety of personal interests. She was an avid bridge player for more than 50 years. She enjoyed golf, bowling, working crossword puzzles, knitting, and had a flare for interior decorating. She read books constantly and looked forward to reading the daily Fort Dodge Messenger. In part, Barb will be remembered for wanting to do things her own way, but her charm always was her quick wit and lively banter, which in her later years, made for great conversation. She loved her family and friends and will be dearly missed.
Barbara is survived by her son CT (Amy) Newsum of Overland Park, KS; daughter Sherree (Ron) Sharp of Dike, IA; grandsons Patrick Newsum (Ellie Kraft); Dan Newsum; Tom (Megan) Newsum; Nathan (Christin) Sharp; granddaughters Kaitlyn Sharp; Lauren (Mike) Roberge; great granddaughter Charlotte Newsum, and another great-grandchild on the way. Siblings include sisters Donna Petersen and Ruth Fletcher of Windsor, CO, plus many nieces, nephews and great nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her parents, Earl and Mabel; husband Tom; sons Fletch and Matt; her brothers Jack, Gill, Bill, and sister Lois. Memorials may be left to the discretion of the family.