Jane Witcher Newberry

Jane was born in Childress, Texas on July 18, 1933, the only child of Oliver Benton Witcher and Mary Rogers Witcher. She grew up in Childress where she was a Bobcat cheerleader and Homecoming Queen and she maintained many life-long friendships from Childress. After graduating from The University of Texas, she married the love of her life, William Stallings (Bill) Newberry, in 1954.

Jane began her teaching career at Highland Park Elementary in 1954 and later taught at Walnut Creek Elementary. She couldn’t stay away from the classroom and began substitute teaching in Austin ISD almost immediately after her retirement and was named the AISD substitute of the year in 2001. Most recently, she substituted at Hill Elementary and Lamar Middle School and the staff at both schools knew they could count on her at any time and treated her as one of their own. She was still being called upon to substitute teach on the Friday before she passed.

Jane and Bill joined Tarrytown Methodist Church shortly after settling in Austin where they remained very active members. In their first Sunday school class, they developed many strong friendships with several couples who played bridge, took trips, and hosted an annual Christmas party in each other’s homes for most of their adult lives. The children of these couples were also in church every Sunday and many became life-long friends. More recently, Jane and Bill were regular members of the Faith Class where their Christian faith was nurtured by a close-knit group of caring friends.

Even during a short break from teaching to stay home with her children when they were young, Jane still tutored many students in her home. Although the classroom consumed most of her days, her greatest joy came from being with her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Little league baseball, McCallum High football games, kickball, piano lessons, dance recitals, swim meets & many more of her children’s and grandchildren’s activities gave Jane some of her best memories.

She always put her family first and encouraged her children in each of their activities and endeavors. No matter how tired she was, her face would light up every time one of her grandchildren or great-grandchildren came to see “Gigi.”

She will be remembered most by her strong work ethic, her sharp mind, her steadfast faith, and her eager willingness to help others. Her friends and family will miss her made-from-scratch dinner rolls and cornbread dressing, her support for her Longhorns, and her engaging personality and charm. Her life was defined by love.

She was preceded in death by her parents and her husband. She is survived by her children Billy Newberry (Joanne) of Austin, Jayne Haratsis (Paul) of Ft. Worth, Nelson Newberry of San Francisco, and Nancy Kieschnik (Neal) of Austin. Jane is also survived by grandchildren Stephanie Dyer (David) of Austin, Natalie Perez (Matt) of Leander, Madeline Haratsis of Ft. Worth and Heather Haratsis of Omaha, as well as great-grandchildren Weston Dyer, Hailey Dyer, Madison Dyer, Coleman Perez and Rhett Perez.

The family would like to thank the staff at Westminster for their care and support.

A memorial service is planned for Saturday, February 21 at 1:30 pm at Tarrytown United Methodist Church. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Tarrytown UMC Endowment Fund, The Muscular Dystrophy Association or an Elementary school near your home.