Olive “Oddie” Sylvia Hale Newby passed away peacefully on November 4, 2019, in Steven Point, Wisconsin, at the age of 96.
She was born on May 18, 1923 in Plover, Wisconsin, to Harold Downer Hale and Olive Vietta (Newby) Hale. She graduated from P.J. Jacobs High School, Stevens Point, Wisconsin, in 1940 and worked as the Executive Secretary at Hardware Mutual Insurance until her marriage on May 6, 1944 to Raymond P. Newby.
After two years stationed with the Army Air Force on Long Island, New York, the couple returned to Stevens Point where they continued to live until their deaths. In 1972, Oddie and Ray purchased Boston Furniture Store where she worked as a bookkeeper until their retirement in 1984. Raymond passed away in 2008.
She was a member of PEO Chapter CB, St. Paul’s Methodist Church, United Methodist Women and Rachel Circle and volunteered at the Holly Shoppe, St. Michael’s Hospital, and for Meals on Wheels. She and Ray enjoyed bowling, bridge, and golfing—Ray was always proud of her hole-in-one. They also liked to travel and particularly enjoyed the weeks they spent every winter for years in Cancun, Mexico, their “second home.”
Oddie loved nature and animals, especially squirrels and her children’s wide variety of pets. She enjoyed needlework, sewing and knitting (making all of her daughters’ clothes when they were children), tending houseplants, making “chicken pie” for her family and baking, pies being “therapy” for her. In her final years at Brookdale Senior Living, she was known for the toffee bars she was constantly making and giving away there.
She is survived by three daughters: Sally (Steve) Ellingboe of Amherst Junction, WI, Jane (Al Blank) Newby of Boise, Idaho, and Mary Beth Schmidt of Almond, WI; daughter-in-law, Lou Ann Newby; sister-in-law, Mary Hale; five grandchildren: David, Sara, Bryann, Christopher, and Sam; and three great-grandchildren: Daylin, Ellison, and Zaydin.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Raymond; son, Douglas; daughter, Lisa; granddaughter, Alice Schmidt; and her parents; two brothers, Harold (Wayne) Hale and Charles Hale; and one sister, Mary Jakusz.
The family would like to thank the staff at Brookdale Senior Living and Heartland Hospice for their loving care of Mom. Suggestions for memorials: St. Paul’s Methodist Church, Stevens Point, and the Portage County Humane Society.
A Memorial Service to celebrate her life will be held 11:00 a.m., Saturday, December 14, 2019; with visitation preceding from 10:00 a.m. until the time of service at Boston Funeral Home. Interment will be held in Plover Cemetery at a later date.
To share a memory or send a condolence gift, please visit the Official Obituary of Olive "Oddie" Newby hosted by Boston Funeral Home.