George Franklin Newsom

George was born on January 26, 1935, to the late Roscoe (Rock) and Barbara (Bobbye) Newsom. He and his older brother Sam grew up in Laredo, Texas, where they learned to speak Spanish and spent much of their childhood outdoors. He fondly remembered raising an orphan deer that would eat out of his hand, capturing horny toads to sell on a Boy Scout trip to Niagara Falls, and giving raccoons vanilla wafers, which they would promptly put in water and rub until the cookies disappeared.

Shortly after high school, George joined the US Coast Guard and found himself in Elizabeth City, NC. One day, he was in a car full of other “Coasties” that pulled up alongside a car full of local girls, at which point his eyes were drawn to a pair of long, tanned legs. The owner of these legs was Loretta Jane Collins, who also noticed the blonde-haired, blue-eyed Texan. They were married on January 25, 1958 and celebrated 68 wedding anniversaries before his passing. Earlier this year, he was asked how he managed to live past 90 and still look so good? His answer was simple: “My wife takes good care of me.”

George received his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Texas (Hook ‘em horns!) and became a man of many vocations, from cattle rancher to insurance salesman. As a consultant, he discovered a vulnerability at Fort Knox. He was fascinated by technology, the development of computers, and the possibilities of the world wide web. In the early 90s, he pioneered e-commerce with the development and promotion of PCTravel, the first online, real-time and interactive booking engine for travel. He then conceived, developed and promoted A Ticket 2Fly, the first airline ticket marketing and sales program designed for direct consumer purchase. He ended his career in information technology, working as a web application developer, coder, and senior VP of technology. In retirement, he enjoyed tracking his stocks and marveling at the difference between Mac OS and Windows.

George and Loretta had two daughters, Tammye Newsom and Stacey Sheridan, who were raised with love and moved across the country more than once. George loved animals and once brought their 28-year-old horse into his garage during a cold spell to ensure it would stay warm. Their many pets over the years became the subject of fond stories, including Adolf the dachshund, Sweetie the mutt, Bandit the Staffordshire terrier, Jackson I who became the dog he would miss the most, and Jackson II, who was the last dog he would own. His grandchildren Trevor Behar and Madison Holley were the apple of his eye.

He loved the outdoors and fished on both coasts and in Canada. An avid golfer, he kept his clubs in the garage long after a bad shoulder kept him out of the game, and he never missed a televised tournament. At a time of life when his peers were retiring, George kept working full-time and even took up oil painting, which he learned watching Bob Ross. His paintings got very good, very quickly, and many family and friends now have beautiful reminders of his talent brightening their walls. George took many incredible trips in his life, including the Concord flight from RDU to Paris, a cruise on the QE2, even a wild adventure in South Africa. He loved the deals at Sam’s Club and was always looking for a new favorite cereal to stock up on. He was a steak connoisseur who took great joy in finding perfectly marbled ribeyes and cooking them to perfection for his family. His dark chocolate brownies were devoured by all, including his beloved Jackson I, and his vanilla bean cheesecake and holiday eggnog were both a source of great pride.

George had a wicked sense of humor and excellent taste in wines. He was intelligent, creative, incredibly stubborn, and always said “I love you” like he meant it. He loved his wife’s collards, his granddaughter’s ginger snaps, and hot dogs from the Roast Grill in downtown Raleigh that refuses to serve ketchup. He built a cabin with his bare hands and would have thrived as a pioneer. The world without him feels a little less interesting and a lot less fun, and he will be greatly missed by those who knew him and loved him.

A visitation will be held at Brown-Wynne Funeral Home, 200 Southeast Maynard Road, Cary, NC 27511, US, on June 2, 2026, from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm.

A committal service will be held at Raleigh Memorial Park & Mitchell Funeral Home, 7501 Glenwood Ave, Raleigh, NC 27612, US, on June 3, 2026, at 1:00 pm.