Jean Frances Craig Newsom

Jean Frances Craig Newsom, two weeks shy of 101, beloved mother, grandmother, and great grandmother, died peacefully May 3, 2023, in the presence of her daughter, Katie, and granddaughter, Jenna. Jean knew that her role as a mother to five and a grandmother to nine was her life’s greatest achievement. Yet, it was her role as the wife of a career foreign service officer that gave Jean an adventurous and storied life, raising her children around the world in far away places including Karachi, Pakistan; Oslo, Norway; Baghdad, Iraq; London, England; Tripoli, Libya; Jakarta, Indonesia; and Manila, The Philippines. Jean is widely recognized as a pioneer of American diplomatic service, managing multiple US Embassy households, hosting too-many-to-count receptions and dinners in support of American diplomacy, and inspiring hundreds of foreign service officers, their spouses, and families during her husband David Dunlop Newsom’s 35+ year diplomatic career.

Born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, on May 19, 1922, to Clarence Craig and Beatrice Readman Craig, Jean was the middle child, between her sister Kay [Valory] and her brother Keith. The Craigs moved from Saskatoon to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1925, where her father worked in the railroad yards of Alameda and her mother worked as a teacher. Jean graduated from Richmond Union High School in 1941 then received a BA in English Literature from the University of California at Berkeley in 1945. On November 17, 1944, Jean married Naval Officer David Dunlop Newsom. After the war, Jean and David ran the Walnut Creek Courier Journal newspaper until late 1946, when David applied to join the foreign service.

During her lifetime, Jean honed her professional skills as an editor with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Middle East Journal, as Executive Director of the Foundation for Middle East Peace, and as a member of the Board of Directors of the American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA) organization.

Jean and David were active members of the Presbyterian church. After David’s retirement, they settled in Charlottesville, VA, where Jean was elected as an Elder of the Westminster Presbyterian Church. After David’s death in 2008, Jean remained connected to the church as well as many community and arts initiatives in Charlottesville, one of her favorites being the Metropolitan Opera simulcast at the Paramount Theater. She was a dedicated friend and could often be found picnicking, laughing, and deep in conversation at King Family Vineyards or Aromas Cafe.

Jean was an accomplished amateur painter and needle pointer. She harbored a passion for music, which she shared with her children and grandchildren. She also was an avid reader, with a particular interest in the works of Thomas Hardy and Joseph Conrad and could be found immersed in a novel well into her final days. She took full advantage of her posting in London from 1960-62 to attend myriad theater performances, often bringing her family along. She and David loved traveling by sea and crossed the Atlantic several times, often with their children and grandchildren, on famous liners – the SS Constitution, SS United States, RMS Queen Elizabeth II, RMS Queen Mary II – and not so well known freighters, sailing ships and an occasional zodiac, ferry or barge.

Jean’s love of penguins was widely known, and a highlight of her life was a journey aboard Lindblad’s National Geographic Explorer to the South Georgia Islands and Antarctica, a surprise gift from David on their 50th Wedding Anniversary. Jean was able to see the penguins – up close and personal – and to visit the grave of celebrated explorer, Sir Ernest Shackleton.

Jean is survived by three sons – John, Daniel (Dan) and David, and two daughters – Nancy and Catherine (Katie) – nine grandchildren, and two great grandchildren with a third due in July. Contributions in her memory can be made to the Jean C. and David D. Newsom Scholarship Fund at the American Foreign Service Association, 2101 E St. NW Washington, DC 20037