Michael Newsom

Michael Alan Newsom was born on October 6, 1946 – he came by his “boomer”-ism honestly – and died peacefully, in his sleep, on August 28, 2023. With brief absences here and there, Mike was, for all intents and purposes, a Birmingham lifer. He graduated from Ensley High School in 1964, from Birmingham-Southern College in 1968, and from the Cumberland School of Law in 1973.

Mike grew up in a loving home. His father, Lloyd, was a lawyer, and his mother, Imogene, was an administrative assistant at Birmingham-Southern (where, in her “free time,” she went back to school to earn her degree!). Lloyd and Imogene predeceased Mike in 1992 and 2001, respectively. Mike was also doted on by two overachieving sisters, Carol and Susan. Carol earned a Ph.D. from Harvard Divinity School and then settled into a career teaching at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology in Atlanta, and Susan obtained a medical degree from UAB before completing her residency and then establishing a successful pediatric practice in Cincinnati.

Mike followed in his father’s footsteps and became a lawyer. He practiced law of all kinds – civil, criminal, high-dollar, low-dollar, and (especially) no-dollar. Mike was a pro bono lawyer before pro-bono lawyering was cool. No one could donate free legal services quite like Mike. It’s just who he was: He encountered people who needed help, so he helped. If he got paid, that was great, but it wasn’t what motivated him. He simply wanted to try to set things straight. It wasn’t always a great way to make a living, but it was a pretty good way to make a life.

Mike was a father to three children: Kevin, Bethea, and Brandon – the latter two of whom, tragically, predeceased him in 2001 and 2018, respectively. He adored his kids. But he reserved his deepest love – or grew into a new kind of love, really – for his grandsons, Marshall James and Chapman. They were his pride and joy. To the extent that Mike had a single “happy place” in his twilight years, it was in the stands watching MJ and Chapman play football, baseball, basketball – whatever was in season. He was their biggest, most loyal, and most enthusiastic fan, and they knew it.

Mike radiated optimism and good cheer. In a world where so many are so cynical, and so easily offended, he lived an unbothered, glass-half-full life. He was always quick with a kind word (and for some, probably a harmlessly flirtatious one). Despite a number of setbacks – physically, personally, professionally – Mike chose joy. And more importantly, he chose to pass that joy along to others. In a word, he was sunny.

To be clear, Mike wasn’t perfect. He waged a vicious, longstanding battle with alcohol –which, he’d be the first to admit, cost him not only clients and jobs but also relationships. In the end, though – and isn’t this what’s important? – he beat it. Right around the time his first grandson was born, Mike quit drinking, quit smoking, and just generally straightened himself out. He owned his shortcomings as a husband and father and redoubled his efforts to become the best grand-dad a kid could want. And he succeeded. He won.

Mike is survived by his son Kevin, his daughter-in-law Deborah, and his grandsons MJ and Chapman; his daughter-in-law Cassandra; his sister Carol and her husband Rex; and his sister Susan and her children Blake and Sarah. They – we – will all miss him desperately. He was a thoroughly decent man.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider a donation to the Legal Aid Society of Birmingham. Donations may be made at the following link: https://www.legalaidbirmingham.com/donate.

A Celebration of Life for Michael will be held Thursday, September 7, 2023 beginning at 2:00 PM with visitation following at Ridout's Valley Chapel, 1800 Oxmoor Road, Homewood, AL 35209.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.ridoutsvalleychapel.com for the Newsom family.