Frank Allan Newsom

Frank Newsom was born on October 24, 1932 in San Angelo, Texas and died on Sunday, March 23, 2008 in Austin. Frank was preceded in death by his parents Frank and Dorothy Newsom and granddaughter, Michelle King. Marriage with Valerie Richardson yielded four children, Connie Grosskopf, Sharon Hinton, Beverly Newsom, and Mark Newsom. Remarriage with Betty Newsom on November 17, 1984 brought two step-children, Deborah Jones and Greg Bair, into his family. In addition to these children and step-children, Frank is survived by sons-in-law: Bill Grosskopf and Mike Jones, daughters-in-law: Sussette Newsom and Ann Bair, and grandchildren: Alyssa Martin, Ryan and Eric Grosskopf, Nash Niven, Haley and Kali King, Talley Williams, Tiffani Jones, and Will and Blake Majors, and great-grandchildren: Desirae Jones and Dallin Garza. Raised on his parents' Mitre Peak Ranch, Frank graduated from Alpine High School in 1950. After attending Texas A&M as class officer in the cadet corps, he graduated from Texas Tech in 1955 with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture. During his four years at Texas Tech, Frank was the Beef Cattle Herdsman. Following graduation and a year as a Second Lieutenant in the USA Signal Corps, he served as the Taylor County Assistant County Agent and then managed Governor Alan Shivers' Ranch in Woodville, Texas. Fluent in "border" Spanish, Frank then served as liaison between Mexican cattlemen and the American Hereford Association, sending thousands of Hereford cattle to upgrade the livestock for ranchers in Mexico. His ranching experience carried forward as he served from 1961-62 as public relations director for the American Quarter Horse Association in Amarillo and from 1962-1970 as executive director of the Texas Racing Association. In 1968 he formed Newsom Investments with Sen. Wayne Connally and in 1970 established Frank Newsom Properties working as a Broker concentrating on ranch and commercial real estate. Having served as a long-standing member of the Austin-Travis County Livestock Show, the 1987 show was dedicated in Frank's honor. A memorial service will be held at All Saints Episcopal Church, 27th and Whitis, Austin, Texas at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 27. In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to the scholarship fund at Texas Tech Office of Annual Giving Programs, P. O. Box 41081, Lubbock, TX 79409-1081 or to the American Heart Association at P. O. Box 15186, Austin, TX 78761.