Celebrate your loved one’s life in a way that’s as independent as they were – in the Daily Independent and on YourValley.net. Share fond memories, photos and information on celebrations of life using our easy, step-by-step process.
Betty Cunningham Newman
Posted
Betty Cunningham Newman, 87, of Sun City West, AZ, passed away on March 24, 2018. She was born on November 10, 1930, the daughter of Charles O. Cunningham and Ernie Edna (Harmon) Cunningham. Betty graduated from Elkins High School and earned a B.A. degree in English, cum laude, from Davis and Elkins College in Elkins, WV.After graduation she was recruited and went to work for the State Department in Washington, DC, where she met her future husband, Richard "Dick" Newman. They were married in 1952 and settled in Wheaton, IL, and later in Camp Hill, PA and St. Charles, IL, retiring to Sun City West in 1995.Along with raising two children, Betty's professional career included work as an office manager, paralegal and Realtor, achieving one of the highest honors given Realtors by the Illinois Association of Realtors.Socially and philanthropically, Betty was a member of the Junior Woman's Club and served as the president of the Wheaton Community Association. She was president of the greater Harrisburg, PA Welcome Wagon Club. She was a lifelong member of Questers, the alumni group of the Pi Beta Phi social sorority. She served as president of the Fox River chapter of the Colonial Dames of the 17th Century, Vice-Regent of the Perrin-Wheaton Chapter of the NSDAR, was a charter chapter member of the Elias Kent Kane Chapter of the NSDAR, and is currently a member of the Estrella Chapter here in Arizona who recently awarded her their Star award for outstanding achievement.Betty's hobbies included gardening, crewel embroidery and genealogy, a hobby begun at the urging of her husband. She amassed a vast amount of information, to the point where she was able to write a book, "Adam and 500 More Cunninghams of the Valley of Virginia", which has proven to be such a valuable resource that it is currently in its third printing with Heritage Books, Inc.Betty was preceded in death by her parents and husband Dick. She is survived by a daughter Ann Katherine Newman, a son Richard Cunningham Newman and a granddaughter Rachel Virginia Yorkis (Brandon). A private celebration of life was held at her home. She was loved my many and will be missed by all.
