Cynthia Elaine Newsome

A Legacy of Faith, Service, and Love

Cynthia Elaine (Gunn) Newsome was born on November 9, 1958, in Lincoln, Nebraska, to James and Bernice Gunn, a dedicated military family. Her father, James M. Gunn, was a Master Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force and a Master Instructor in aircraft avionics. Her mother, Bernice L. Gunn, was a devoted homemaker and active community member, volunteering with the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and local schools.

As part of a military family, Cynthia’s early life was filled with travel. She lived in San Antonio and Laredo, Texas, and overseas in Misawa, Japan, and at Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines. Returning to the U.S., the family resided briefly in San Antonio, Texas, before moving to Shaw AFB in Sumter, South Carolina, where her brother Christopher was born. They later returned to San Antonio and then relocated to Eglin AFB in Fort Walton Beach, Florida.

Cynthia graduated from Niceville High School in Florida, where she founded and edited the school newspaper. She also won the Miss Niceville High School Beauty Pageant, admired for her beauty, poise, and infectious personality. From a young age, she displayed an insatiable curiosity, a fearless sense of advocacy, and a natural talent for journalism. Deeply involved in her church, she attended services, Bible study, youth groups, and Bible camps, where she accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior. Her early admiration for Oral Roberts inspired her to attend Oral Roberts University, where she majored in journalism, performed with the Oral Roberts Singers, toured the country, and appeared regularly on the Oral Roberts TV show.

Cynthia’s professional career in television began during her freshman summer at ORU, when she worked at a local cable station in Florida, ensuring movies ran smoothly through the night. Her career progressed in Oklahoma City, where she spent 13 years as a Weekend Anchor at KWTV Channel 9 and as a reporter at KFOR TV and WKY Radio. In January 1997, Cynthia joined the KSHB 41 News Team in Kansas City, Missouri. There, she spent 25 years reporting and anchoring, eventually becoming the Community Relations Director. She also served as a health reporter, covering and promoting breast cancer awareness—a cause that became deeply personal when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011. In 2014, she and her husband, Edward, traveled on a mission trip to northern Ethiopia and Kenya to teach women the importance of self-breast examinations.

Beyond her work in journalism, Cynthia was passionate about empowering young women to recognize their value, pursue their dreams, and make wise life choices. She founded Awesome Ambitions, a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating, equipping, and inspiring young women through mentorship, leadership development, college and career readiness, health and wellness education, entrepreneurship, and community engagement. Through Awesome Ambitions, she impacted thousands of young women and helped them envision futures filled with purpose and possibility.

Her commitment to mentoring young women also extended to her church family. At United Believers Community Church, Cynthia founded Choose Wisely, a ministry created to encourage young women to grow in faith, character, confidence, and wisdom. Through both Awesome Ambitions and Choose Wisely, Cynthia became a trusted mentor, role model, and advocate whose influence will continue through the countless lives she helped shape.

Cynthia met Edward in October 1999, thanks to the matchmaking efforts of Edward’s brother, Travis. Their first meeting was lighthearted—she needed a “warm body” to accompany her to the grand opening of Union Station in Kansas City—and that warm body became her lifelong partner. Together, they shared nearly 25 years of marriage, facing challenges and adventures with love and resilience. Their travels were a lifelong passion: a honeymoon across Rome, Switzerland, Paris, and London; trips to Ethiopia and Kenya; cruises in the Caribbean and Alaska; visits to Hawaii, Greece, and Israel, where Edward baptized her in the Jordan River; and family adventures including an eight-day trip to Cape Town, South Africa. Her final dream trip, a Rocky Mountaineer train tour from Vancouver to Banff, Canada, became a reality just days before her passing. Cynthia loved trains, flying, and exploring the world with Edward by her side. She took her final flight on May 19, 2026.

Cynthia is survived by her devoted husband, Edward; two stepchildren, Edward II and Kimberly; her brothers, Clarence (Helen) and Christopher Gunn (Myrna); three sisters-in-law, Johnnie Newsome-Lewis, Joyce Newsome-Hargrove, and Delores French (Jeffrey); six brothers-in-law, Sterling (Juanita), Joe, Travis (Maryalice), Jerry (Rosalind), John (Brenda), and Oscar Newsome; cousins William Smith (Jean), Marvin Smith (Denise), and Rick Scott (Vern), Cheryl Warren and Cheryl White; and a loving church family at United Believers Community Baptist Church (Pastor Darron LaMonte Edwards).

She is also remembered by her dynamic team at Awesome Ambitions and her colleagues at KSHB Television; her dear friends Lisa Lane (Maid of Honor), Connie Befort, Stephanie Doolittle, Trudy McDermott, Denise White, Serviner (Mama Vene) Willis (Cynthia's Kansas City mother), and Raleigha McCreary (a cherished mentee and little sister at heart); and countless other friends, neighbors, and viewers whose lives she touched with her warmth, integrity, and compassion.

Cynthia Newsome's life was marked by faith, curiosity, courage, advocacy, and an unwavering commitment to serving others. Whether reporting the news, mentoring young women through Awesome Ambitions and Choose Wisely, supporting her church, or encouraging those facing life's challenges, she led with grace, compassion, and purpose. Her legacy of faith, love, courage, and service will continue to inspire generations to come.

In lieu of flowers or food, the Newsome family requests that memorial gifts be made to Awesome Ambitions in honor of founder Cynthia Newsome: https://awesomeambitions.networkforgood.com