Linda Newton

In the pre-dawn moments of May 27, 2023, Linda Kay Benton Newton received her full and divine healing surrounded by her family. She was born July 30th, 1951, to Ralph and Marie Benton. She was the epitome of the Proverbs 31 wife and mother who left a legacy of love. She loved her husband Perry. Married almost 51 years, neither spent an entire day apart from the other in those years. Their marriage is the very definition of two becoming one. They truly enjoyed each other’s presence, whether it was going to a Bluegrass festival together, riding through the Smokies, or just sitting on the front porch swing watching it come a spring rain. She loved her daughters, Amy Jo and Emily, for whom she wiped every childhood tear and soothed every middle-of-the night tummy ache without the slightest complaint. She had a front row seat at every event of their lives, big or small. She loved their husbands, Rush and Terry, whose favorite way to love her was to pick at her and get a laugh through that beautiful smile. She loved being a Nana to her grandchildren, McCoy, Nate, and Lily. She always made pancakes on the mornings after a spend-the-night at Nana and Papaw’s. She loved everything about family, and she was the heart of every get-together that was had January through December. Everyone who truly knew her, knows that Linda loved Christmas more than any other time of the year. She loved to decorate for the Sloan-Newton Christmas reunion, and she loved turning her and Perry’s little house in Hatley into a wonderland for the annual Christmas Eve family potluck and gift exchange. She loved giving more than receiving, and she always made sure her daughters and the grandchildren had an equal number of gifts on Christmas Day, although Rush and Terry always kidded her that they were not guaranteed the same. She loved to entertain, cook, and serve others, and her desserts were second to none. She was always ready with a banana pudding, lemon delight, or pineapple carrot cake. She loved her “church ladies,” and she spent lots of time with them crafting, putting together shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child, or getting pedicures. Linda loved Jesus more than anyone and had since she was a little girl playing church in the backyard with her older brother, Terry,
and her little sister, Brenda. 

Because He loved her first, Linda’s earthly passing means that she will spend an eternity with Jesus. The rest of her family and hundreds of friends grieve her loss here but rejoice to know that she is now in the presence of The Lord, and she would want everyone to know the same peace in Jesus that she trusted all of her life. 

She is survived by her husband Perry; her daughters Amy Jo (Rush), and Emily (Terry); her grandchildren, McCoy (Scarlett), Nate, and Lily; her brother Terry (Leevay); her sister Brenda (Ray); and a host of nieces, nephews, and cousins, as well as friends who were always like family to her. She is preceded in death by her mother and father; her oldest sister, Wanda Fay; her father-in-law and mother-in-law, Bill and Una Newton; several other beloved family members; and two babies who entered Heaven before being born but whom she always remembered and loved. 

Linda Kay Benton Newton loved. 

Visitation will be Monday, May 29, from 2:00-6:00 at Meadowood Baptist Church in Amory. Funeral services will be at 2:00 at Meadowood on Tuesday, May 30, with visitation beginning at 11:00. Brother Sid Ree and Brother Lloyd Sweatt will officiate. Pallbearers are Rush Holcomb, Terry Comer, McCoy Holcomb, Nate Comer, Jim Stallings, and Melvin Kemp. Her earthly body will be laid to rest at Haughton Memorial Cemetery in Amory. 

In lieu of flowers, food, and gifts, Linda’s family would be so happy for you to donate complimentary items for families of patients in the North Mississippi Medical Center Critical Care and Hospice Units or to Operation Christmas Child via Meadowood Baptist Church.