Obituary for Jessie Newland

Jessie Leon Newland

(February 18, 1914 – August 9, 2017)

Jessie Leon Newland, formerly of Blackwell, Oklahoma, died August 9, 2017, in the Arlington Memorial Hospital in Arlington, Texas, at the age of 103 years.

Jessie Leon Newland was born on February 18, 1914, in Morrison, Oklahoma, to Adam and Pearl (Fehrenbach) Wolf. She grew up on a farm in Pawnee County attending Wolf Rural School. Following her education she worked on the farm and as a receptionist for Dr. Gibson. On July 4, 1936, she married Earl Ward in Dallas, Texas, and they settled in Alva, Oklahoma, before living in various communities in Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas where he worked in the construction industry. In 1942 they settled on a farm east of Blackwell before moving into Blackwell in 1947. Her husband preceded her in death on May 2, 1949. She later married Roy Havenar in June of 1955 and they made Blackwell their home. He preceded her in death in June of 1970. She began working for Safeway in 1957 and worked there until 1974 when she retired. In December of 1976 she married Jim Newland and they settled in Blackwell. He preceded her in death in 1991. She was a member of the First Christian Church, the XL Sunday School and Christian Women’s Fellowship in Blackwell. She also held a lifetime membership in the Rebekah Lodge where she served as Past Noble Grand. Other memberships include Vernon H.O.A. Club and American Association of Retired Persons. She enjoyed bowling, playing cards and serving as a volunteer with the Top of Oklahoma Historical Society. In 2003, she moved to Arlington, Texas, to live with her daughter, LaVonna. While in Arlington, she was active at the Rush Creek Christian Church, Arlington Senior Recreation Center, Red Hats, and her special Keno Club. She was a long-time avid Texas Rangers baseball fan and watched every game on TV. Everyone she met was awed by her youthful appearance, her sharpness of mind, her loving and lively spirit, and her moral countenance.

She is survived by a daughter, LaVonna Shapley; daughter-in-law, Betty Ward; sister, Hazel Humbolt; six grandchildren, David Shapley and wife, Annie, Kenneth Shapley, Tammy Haskins, Ron Ward, Michael Ward, and Darren Ward and wife, Tony; four great grandchildren, Joshua, Jacob and Eramist Haskins, and Katelyn Buzzard and husband, John; and one great-great grandchild, Nokuse Buzzard.

She was also preceded in death by her parents; a son, Clarence Ward; son-in-law Glenn Shapley; six sisters, Irene Henry, Elizabeth Hook, Olga Stover, Ida Doyle, Sadie Hartung, and Mabel Haworth; and three brothers, Bill, Adam and Clarence Wolf.

Services are scheduled for Wednesday, August 16th at 1:30 p.m. in the First Christian Church in Blackwell with Rev. Jeff Koch officiating. Burial will follow in the I. O. O. F. Cemetery in Tonkawa.

Casketbearers will be David Shapley, Ken Shapley and Darren Ward.

A memorial has been established in her honor with Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation for cancer research in c/o Roberts and Son Funeral Home, 120 W. Padon, Blackwell, Oklahoma 74631.