Janvrin Martindale Newsome

Janvrin Martindale Newsome died peacefully in the company of her family on November 30, 2025. Innately kind, gentle, and loving, she was a wonderful wife, caring and supportive mother, and dear friend. She will be missed by all.

Born May 1, 1943 in Brownsville, Texas, Jan was the daughter of James Bruce Martindale, Jr. and Barbara Browne Martindale. A graduate of the Hockaday School, she attended Hollins College and Southern Methodist University.

After a lengthy courtship, she and Thomas Willingham Newsome, whom she had met as a high school junior on a blind date on New Year’s Eve 1959, were married on July 25, 1964. Over the next several years, they shared the demanding life of a medical student and surgical resident, including three years of military service in San Antonio, her family’s hometown. During this period, they had two children, a son William Bruce Newsome and a daughter Stuart Janvrin Newsome.

After returning to Dallas where Tom opened his practice, Jan committed to her community, actively volunteering with the Junior League of Dallas, the Visiting Nurse Association, and the Arthritis Foundation. She served on the boards of each. She especially valued the opportunity to participate in the development of the VNA hospice program.

Jan was quick to integrate the computer into her life. A dedicated genealogist, she traced the origin of her unusual first name to John Janvrin, a mariner from the Channel Islands, who had arrived in New Hampshire in 1656. Fleshing out her family tree, she was able to trace another branch to the Canary Islanders, who, in 1731, were the first civilian settlers of San Antonio. She managed her own financial portfolio and was the bookkeeper for her husband’s office. Later, she would employ architectural software to layout their home in the country.

Like her mother, Jan had an unusually good eye for color and design. For over a decade, the St. Michael’s Woman’s Exchange benefitted from her creative talent as she wrapped gift packages on Wednesday afternoons.

Her interests in a wide variety of topics led her to audit courses at the SMU Cox School of Business. Later on, she was an active participant in the Mary K. Craig Class at the Dallas Woman’s Club and the Issues and Interests discussion group of the Junior League.

With the death of Tom’s father in 1989 came responsibility for managing the family’s ranch in East Texas. Jan quickly discovered that she loved the “peaceful” ambiance of the country. For the next 30 years, she relished those weekends, leaving her footprint in a tasteful farm house that she had personally designed and furnished.

Always unassuming, Jan was an accomplished, multi-faceted woman, who lived a rewarding and meaningful life. Although she made many friends along the way, the core remained a special group of women with whom she had bonded as a schoolgirl at Hockaday.

During their 61 years of marriage, she and Tom shared a love of pets, food, travel, art, classic movies and, above all, their life together.

Sadly, Jan’s last years were marred by fibromyalgia and clouded by dementia. During this trying time, her family was grateful for the support of the Memory Unit at Ventana by Buckner, her companions from Pearl’s Tender Care – Sabrina, Solomon, and Judy, and the Freedom Hospice.

Jan was preceded in death by her parents, her brother Bruce Martindale, and her sister Nancy Cantwell. She is survived by her husband, two children, daughter-in-law Karen, granddaughters Victoria and Kendall, and her beloved goldendoodle Maxie.

A memorial service will be held at the Sparkman/Hillcrest Funeral Home, located at 7405 Northwest Highway, on Tuesday, January 6th. at 2:00 p.m.

A reception will follow at the Brook Hollow Golf Club, 8301 Harry Hines Blvd.

At a later date, there will be a private burial in the Pecan Grove Cemetery in McKinney.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Visiting Nurse Association of Texas or the charity of your choice.