Audrey Graham Newsome

March 25, 1928 — February 13, 2011

Audrey Graham Newsome, of Avondale Estates, Georgia, passed away on February 13, 2011 at the age of eighty-two.
Born in Greelyville, South Carolina, on March 25, 1928, Audrey spent her early years in Kingstree, South Carolina graduating from Kingstree High School in 1945.
Audrey Newsome married George Washington Newsome Jr., of Hawkinsville, Georgia in the summer of 1949 at the First Methodist Church of Kingstree.Mr. Newsome passed away in 1961. Audrey started school at the University of South Carolina, while continuing in her role as loving mother to her three children.In the spring of 1965, Audrey received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Georgia College in Milledgeville.
In 1969 Audrey Newsome married James Pate, now deceased, of Hawkinsville, Georgia.
Through the years, she held a number of positions, always gaining the love and respect of all those with whom she worked.
During the mid-fifties the family lived in Atlanta, where Audrey served as personal secretary to Governor Marvin Griffin, became a Realtor and a Real Estate Broker.
After moving to Hawkinsville, she taught math, typing, accounting and English at Hawkinsville High School (1965).She then became a Counselor with Heart of Georgia Community Action Council of Eastman, Georgia (1966-1973). She later became Program Manager with Heart of Georgia Regional Educational Agency of Eastman, Georgia (1974 to1984) and became JTPA Director (Heart of Georgia Regional Development Center of Eastman, Georgia (1984-1993).
Audrey became Lead Teacher/Coordinator of the Adult Education Program of Middle Georgia Technical Institute of Warner Robins, Georgia in 1994. During this time, she initiated the process by which Hawkinsville was made a Certified Literate Community which included teaching GED classes.
Known as "Miss Audrey" to much of Hawkinsville and Middle Georgia area, she served as a City of Hawkinsville Commissioner from 1996 to 2005, holding the position of Chair-woman of the City Commission from 2001 until she retired.Audrey Newsome is the only female to have served in such a position.
The meetings of the City Commission reflect her interest in preserving history.She was particularly interested in the Orange Hill and Pinebloom Cemeteries, pushing for ways to restore and keep the dignity of "this, our treasured past"."It is our duty to preserve the resting place of our dead and to hope that the people who come after us will do the same - for without a past, we cannot build a future of honor and respect."Associates report that this was "Miss Audrey" and how she felt about everything and everyone in Hawkinsville.
She was always active in her community, serving on the Regional Development Authority Committee of the Area Agency on Aging. As contact person for the Statewide Cleanup Campaign, she was instrumental in implementing programs to cleanup abandoned lots and dilapidated houses.
The Learning Center for Heart of Georgia Regional Development Center (Eastman, Georgia) is named for Audrey, as a tribute to her accomplishments.
Mrs. Newsome was a member of the First United Methodist Church of Hawkinsville, Georgia. Above all Audrey Newsome was a wonderfully loving wife, a devoted mother, a kind sister and a dear friend to all.
Audrey Newsome is survived by her son George Washington Newsome III and wife, Mary Lynn, of Sugar Hill, Georgia; two daughters, Riley Adcock Tucker of Social Circle, Georgia and Audrey Georgette Newsome of Avondale Estates; two grandsons Maury Edwin Adcock, and wife, Sonya Pett-Adcock and Steven Graham Adcock of Monroe, Georgia and two great grandsons Austin Nash Mitcham and Knox Cole Adcock; a granddaughter Arianna Crane; a brother Edward Leon Graham and sister Gertha Lou Stackley both of Kingstree, South Carolina.
A celebration of the life of Audrey Newsome will be held on Saturday, February 19, 2011. Interment, for close family members, will be at Orange Hill Cemetery at 10:00am.The family will be available for visitation at the First United Methodist Church, Hawkinsville, Georgia, beginning at 11:00, with a Memorial Service following at 12:00 noon.Honorary Pallbearers include Maury Edwin Adcock, Steven Graham Adcock, William Johnson Stackley, William Graham Drawdy, Richard Bruce Rowlinson, Paul Ross Osborne, James Lamkin Smith, and Blake Jelks Smith.
The family has requested that donations be made to either the Alzheimer's Association (alz.org/donate) or Hospice Atlanta (1244 Park Vista Drive Atlanta, Ga. 30319404-869-3000)

Local arrangements entrusted to Clark Funeral Home.

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Audrey Graham Newsome

March 25, 1928 — February 13, 2011

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