Farewell to a Friend
November 7, 2018: As I drank my coffee this morning in the bright Florida sunshine, I thought about my friend Allie Newton. I knew she had a birthday coming up soon and I was trying to remember what age she would be this year. She was always a lot of fun, as shown here balancing a spoon on her nose.
Allie and I first met, in July 1996, when I moved into an apartment building on Iliff Avenue in Denver. She was my neighbor and we became fast friends. We often had afternoon cocktails of veggie juice that she made in her juicer. She was a Reiki Master and sage soul. She was also an accomplished artist. She loved my kitties Byron and Maxx and was their caregiver when I traveled in the 1990s. In 2000 she returned to her hometown of Melbourne, Florida and settled into retired life. I visited her often in Melbourne and fell in love with the town – hence why I moved to Melbourne in 2015.
She had been in poor health for some time. When I decided to move to Melbourne, she was my base while I looked at property to buy. Although I drove her by my new condo complex in January 2015, sadly she was not able to do the stairs to actually see the beauty of the place inside.
Allie took ill in May of 2015, and once hospitalized she never returned to her home at Tropical Haven Mobile Home Park near the Melbourne Airport. I visited her often once she was relocated to the Opis Nursing Home in West Melbourne. Knowing her so well, I knew she didn’t want me to see her decline. She even said that on one of my visits. As time went on, she no longer remembered me.
So as I drank my coffee this morning, I decided to do a Google search to see if she came up in an obituary search… and sure enough she did. Allie passed away on October 23, 2018. The family never notified me.
I know Allie is in a better place now as her closing years were pretty rough. Your love, your laughter and your friendship will always be remembered Allie. Rest in peace my sweet friend…
Melbourne – On 10/23/18 at age 96, Allene Newton, affectionately called Allie, was called home to be with the Lord. Allene was raised by her mother, Francis Schell who ran the Flatiron Hotel in downtown Melbourne. She graduated from Melbourne High School and moved to Detroit where she met and married Max Newton who preceded her in death. She eventually returned to Melbourne with her finally earthly address being Opis Indian River Center. She is survived by her loving sons Christian (Helen) and Charles (Debra) Newton. Additionally she has six grandchildren, Harmony and Hillary Newton, Jason Pitts, Shelley Schmidt, Emily Peterson, Matthew Newton and eight great-grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at 2 pm on October 30th at the Lamplighter Village Clubhouse, 500 Lantern Blvd., Melbourne. Published in FLORIDA TODAY from Oct. 26 to Oct. 28, 2018
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