Lena E. Newman

Lena E. Newman passed away peacefully in her sleep at her home in Woodstock on Sunday, March 25, 2018, at the age of 101.  She was born on January 1, 1917 to immigrant Belgian parents, Elodie (Van Compernolle) and John DeBrower, in Harvard, Illinois.  On October 12, 1940, she married Charles H. Newman in Woodstock.

She was valedictorian of her 1934 Harvard H.S. class.  Even though times were hard after the Depression she went right to work for Jewett & Wright Abstract Co in Woodstock, which eventually became the McHenry County Title Company.  From 1943-1955 she took time off to raise her family, while also working part-time as a bookkeeper for Hahn Oil, the Smoke House Tavern, and her husband’s businesses, Newman’s Log Cabin and Newman Insurance.  When her husband died in 1961 she went back to work full-time at the Title Company, becoming Vice-President in 1979; she retired in 1982.  Lena was very active in various social and professional women’s groups such as the Har-Wood Club, the VFW, the Doe Club, and the Business and Professional Woman’s Club.  During her tenure in the BPW, she was instrumental in getting the Spring House built on the Woodstock Square.  She had a devoted circle of friends and enjoyed playing pinochle, listening to pop music on WLS radio while she worked in the kitchen, watching golf and tennis on TV, and tending her flower garden.  She played a part in the city’s controlled growth in the mid-70s when she was appointed by the mayor to serve on the Woodstock Plan Commission.  Her faith and activities supporting St. Mary’s Catholic Church were always important to her; after her retirement she became a daily participant in the Mass and the prayer group. 

Lena greatly loved and treasured her family.  She is survived by her daughter, Marilyn (John) Fettes of Huntley, and two sons, Bob (Janice) Newman of Ankeny, Iowa, and Tom (Katie) Newman, of Champaign, Illinois.  She has eight grandchildren (Brian Fettes, Monica Fettes, Lynette Limberis, Sandi Montgomery, Scott Newman, Michelle Lawson, Daniel Newman, and Jason Newman) and nine great-grandchildren (Thomas and John Limberis, Ben, Jessica and Jonathan Fettes, Evan and Samantha Montgomery, and Aiden and Jacob Newman).  She was preceded in death by her son, Martin, as well as her parents, husband, and four brothers, Charles, Fred, Frank, and Elmer DeBrower.

Visitation will be from 10 to 11 A.M. Monday, April 2 at Mary’s Catholic Church in Woodstock, followed by a funeral Mass at 11 A.M.  Burial will be in the Greenwood Cemetery, Greenwood, Illinois.  Arrangements are being managed by the Schneider, Leucht, Merwin, & Cooney Funeral Home.  Memorials should be directed to support the Woodstock Food Pantry.

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