Janice B. (DeCoste) Newman, 84, of West Palm Beach and Gloucester, passed away peacefully on Friday, January 10, 2014 at her home. She was the wife of Eugene F. Newman. They had shared 63 years of marriage.
Born in Gloucester on May 30, 1929, she was the daughter of the late Charles Freeman and Edna (Lewis) DeCoste. Mrs. Newman was a longtime resident of Gloucester and a communicant of St. John’s Episcopal Church. She graduated from Gloucester High School with honors in 1947 and Boston Children’s Hospital School of Nursing in June of 1950.
Mrs. Newman was employed as an office nurse at Cape Ann Surgical Associates in Gloucester for nine years before retiring in 1991. She was also once employed as a registered nurse at Hannaman Hospital and Worcester City Hospital for two years. She was a member of the Rockport Community Chorus, Cresthaven Glee Club of West Palm Beach and the Buttonwood Chorus of Lakeworth, FL. She enjoyed traveling, having taken several cruises and land tours of Europe, Scandinavia, Mediterranean, British Isles and Bermuda. Along with husband, she co-hosted ballroom dances at the Knights of Columbus in Peabody for twenty years.
A devoted wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and aunt, she will be sadly missed by her family and friends.
In addition to her husband, she is survived by her daughters, Paula, wife of Michael Frazier and Gail A. Newman, all of Gloucester; six grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; sister, Arlene P. Hubbard, of West Palm Beach; sister-in-law, Jeanette E. Hubbard of Gloucester and many nieces and nephews. She was also predeceased by her son, Mark Jeffrey Newman and her brother, Charles Freeman DeCoste, Jr.
A memorial service will be held on Tuesday, May 13th in the St. John’s Episcopal Church, 48 Middle St., Gloucester at 11 a.m. Interment will take place in the Beechbrook Cemetery. Relatives and friends are cordially invited to attend. There are no visiting hours. In lieu of flowers, expression of sympathy may be made in her memory to Vitas Innovative Hospice Care, 100 Century Boulevard, West Palm Beach, FL 33407, or to Beacon Hospice, 100 Cummings Center, Suite 222c, Beverly, MA 01915 or to St. John’s Episcopal Church, 40 Middle Street, Gloucester, MA 01930.