Sarah Elizabeth Newton

Sarah Elizabeth Newton was born 6th September 1924 to Sarah and John Mckenna, in Clanabogan, on a 33 acre farm outside the town of Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.

She was the fifth of ten siblings, with two sisters and seven brothers. She learned all the skills of farming, harvesting and selling eggs from chickens and making cheese and butter. One day she dipped her finger into the unpasteurized raw milk and her tongue blackened and she contracted diphtheria, and spent weeks in an isolation ward, but recovered. She was the beneficiary of many such miracles, throughout her long life. For example, she had to track 5 miles each day, rain or snow, to Tattysallagh Catholic School and one day when she was nine years old, her friend, Sarah Quinn, who accompanied her to school, called, but she was too sick and could not go to school that day, and her friend was killed by a truck on her way to school. She always felt survivors’ guilt after that and dated her friends brother who died as a pilot in the second world war.

Mum was an excellent ballroom dancer, which she learned from her mother at an early age, and later when she first met my father, her husband, which attracted him to her and was always a great bond between them. Her mother died at 44 when she was just 16 years-old, which always affected her.

After the war mum and dad got married and in 1951 had their first son Peter, and a year later Patricia and two years later Geoffrey. She spent the next ten years moving house, and attending to her children, working part-time jobs to afford music lessons and sports and private reading lessons, and school uniforms and meals for the kids. In 1969 she got a cleaning business which her husband worked for the next 43 years. She had a tremendous year in 1979, attending to her son, Peters wedding to a wonderful daughter in law, Samantha, and they have remained together ever since with two much loved grandchildren, Carrie and Haley. Also, in 1979 she attended Geoffrey’s Pharmacy graduation, which he worked at for the next 42 years. She went to Paris in 1981 to see Peters celebrity show and was introduced to Lauren Bacall, which left her a very proud mother, and later when Peter appeared on TV on the Rolf Harris show, she was overwhelmed with a mothers’ pride for her sons’ achievement and was welcomed in her hometown in Ireland, by friends and family alike.

In 1996 she attended her daughters’ wedding in Chicago to Robert Michelle and has always been very proud of her grandchild Rebecca, who went to an Ivy League university and has a wonderful great-grandson Job.

She was badly affected when her sister Bridget died early from cancer and her other sister afflicted with dementia. But mum remained strong and healthy, sacrificing smoking to put food on the table and gave up meat and wine in the last two decades of her life. She lost her husband of 63 years to cancer in 2013 and moved to Canada until her death, a decade later.

She enjoyed the garden which reminded her of the farm she grew up on and always drank tea, cooked fresh-foods and hearty soups. She enjoyed looking at her living-room full of pictures of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren and attended her grand-child’s Carrie’s wedding in a British castle in 2009 and Haley’s wedding five-years later, in Las Vegas.

Her long life of nearly 100 years, saw two world wars, two depressions and two global pandemics. It was rich with memories of the three great chapters of her life in Ireland until she was 18 years-old, then England for 72 years and Canada for 10 years. She gave unconditional love and received it in return. She overcame every adversity by simply taking the next step forward, never backwards, and never harboured malice or bigotry. Her secret to a long life was her faith in God and joy of her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. In the end her soul was simple and remained unimpeached, guiding her to the next journey of her life.

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It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our beloved mother, Sarah on September 19, 2022 in her 99th year.

She was predeceased by her loving husband Eric Newton. Much loved mother to Peter (Samantha), Patricia and Geoffrey. Cherished grandmother to Carrie, Hayley and Rebecca and great grandmother to Bay, Troy, Primy, Kit, Bluebell and Job. She will be dearly missed by all.

Her family will receive friends at the Cresmount Funeral Home on Monday, September 26th from 9:30am until 10:30am followed by a Funeral Mass at St. Joseph's Catholic Church, 260 Herkimer St. in Hamilton at 11am. Cremation will follow. Guests are welcome to join via live stream and also to leave memories and condolences for her family by visiting cresmountfennellchapel.com