Laurel Elaine Tibbetts Newsome

Laurel was born to the late Alvah “Ted” and Evelyn Sauer Tibbetts on September 30, 1941 in Bagley, Minnesota. She was the eldest daughter of their eight children and grew up helping them care for her younger siblings. Upon graduation from Bagley High School, she left for Chicago, Illinois and attended Moody Bible Institute for three years, and then moved to St. Paul, Minnesota to attend Northwestern College (now University of Northwestern), where she received her degree in elementary education. Upon receiving her degree, she began her career as an elementary school teacher in Anoka, Minnesota.

Seeking to quench her life-long desire to travel, she received an appointment as a teacher for the English-speaking children of oil company employees working in Abadan, Iran. While there, she was able to travel throughout the Middle East and Europe. She also met the love of her life, Lt. Joseph Fulton Newsome of the U.S. Coast Guard, who was serving as a military adviser to the Iranian government. Joe proposed to her as he was leaving to return to the United States after his one-year tour ended. Laurel completed her contract and then moved back home. They were married on November 2, 1970.

Laurel and Joe lived in Louisiana, Florida and Virginia before Joe retired from Coast Guard in 1975. They then moved to Chadbourn, North Carolina where they resided for the next 46 years, and where Laurel was called to her life’s work. In 1977, Laurel helped found Columbus Christian Academy in Whiteville, North Carolina. She began teaching there that year, and for the next 37 years, she molded the young minds of hundreds of children at CCA. Although she taught several different grades at the beginning, she found her home as the kindergarten teacher at CCA. Laurel was devoted to teaching her “babies” and was known and admired for the speed with which she had her kindergarteners reading.

Laurel combined her love for crafts with her teaching, making pillows shaped like stuffed animals for her students’ rest time. Laurel loved to sew, crochet, and cross-stitch. She also enjoyed learning calligraphy and scherenschnitte (German paper cutting). With Joe, Laurel loved to travel, and together, they visited all 50 states and 10 provinces in Canada.

More important than teaching or any of her hobbies, though, was her relationship with God. Laurel viewed her teaching as a calling from the Lord and lived every day with that calling in mind, ministering to her students, their parents, and her colleagues at CCA. She set a tremendous example for everyone that she encountered. She was also a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother. Laurel loved her family, and never missed an opportunity to see her kids and grandkids.

Laurel is survived by her son, Joseph A. “Jody” Newsome, his wife, Paula, and their daughters, Reeves and Caroline; and her son, John F. Newsome and his wife, Anne, their son, Nicholas, and daughter, Sophie. She is also survived by her sisters, Jan Tibbetts Olson, Lois Tibbetts Larson, and Becky Tibbetts Schlegel. She is predeceased by her husband of 51 years, Joe; her parents, Ted and Evy Tibbetts; and her four brothers: Ivan, Rod, Dave and John.

Laurel will be buried alongside her husband, “my Joe,” at Arlington National Cemetery.

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