Ann Fox Newsom, 91, passed away Oct. 7, 2020 following a long battle with kidney disease. She was born in Winnfield, LA, Aug. 9, 1929, the seventh of nine children to Noah and Selma Fox. She graduated from Bastrop High School in 1946 and married Herb Newsom in 1948. Ann and Herb settled in Shreveport in 1949.
While raising her family, Ann worked at several local icons, like Stephenson Floors and M. Levy, until she settled into a career with South Central Bell. She started as a cord board operator in 1969 – Operator 777 - and retired after 20 years of service. Following her retirement, Ann served her community as a volunteer through various organizations like RSVP Singers, Telephone Pioneers, Christus Schumpert Cancer Center and United Way of Northwest Louisiana.
Ann always felt a calling to travel the world. She fell in love with cruising and sailed extensively in the Caribbean, but also the Pacific Northwest and the Mediterranean. She saw much of the U.S. as well, having visited most states east of the Mississippi River and those stretched along the southern and western borders from home to Hawaii. She enjoyed hosting “the girls” – her friends from church – for monthly Skip-Bo games and her weekly Scrabble nights with her children. Ann had a brilliant mind and was a lifelong avid reader rarely seen without a book.
Ann was blessed with an appreciation of the arts – particularly literature, music and painting – and she passed that on to her children. She had a great sense of humor and reveled in a good laugh. She was loving, kind and generous to everyone. A devout Christian, she was a member of Providence Road Baptist Church.
Ann was preceded in death by her husband Herb Newsom, sisters Louise Deas and Odessa Reeves, brothers John Fox. Troy Fox, Norris Fox, Harry Fox, and Deloy Fox. She is survived by her children Sandy Flint and husband Gary of Springhill, LA; Debbie Dalton of Karnack, TX; Joe Newsom and wife Carol of Arlington, TX; and Becky Celli and husband Paul of Shreveport; brother Jay Fox and wife Marianne of Mobile, AL, seven grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren, two great-great-grandchildren and many other extended family members and friends.
In lieu of flowers, Ann would appreciate a donation to the American Kidney Foundation or the American Lung Association.
