Austina Violet Newsome
Austina Violet Newsome, 79, Antigonish, died March 31, 2019, in St. Martha’s Regional Hospital.
Born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, she was a daughter of the late Hazel (Corbett) and Austin Kennedy. She grew up on a farm with wonderful parents who gave her the love, skills and help she needed along with piano, voice and pipe organ lessons. After completing high school in PEI, she went to Dalhousie University for Religious Studies, but completed a Biology degree instead. She then pursued a Masters degree at the University of Western Ontario. After starting a PhD, she joined the Department of Biology at Concordia University. There she met her future husband, George ‘Buck’ Newsome. Following their marriage, they moved to the University of Manitoba, then relocated in 1974 to St. Francis Xavier University, where she was employed as a biology lab instructor for 29 years. She loved teaching, her students, and came to love Antigonish. She and her husband spent 40 summers at their Lochaber Lake cottage. Following the death of her husband, she moved to The Maples.
She is survived by her brother-in-law, Philip Newsome (Eleanor); three nephews, David Kennedy, Brent Newsome (Erika), Trevor Newsome (Holly); three great nephews, Keith Newsome, Adrian Newsome, Owen Newsome; two great nieces, Hannah Newsome, Alexa Newsome; Kathy Tibert, Sandra Taylor, Jebb Tibert.
She was predeceased by brother, A. Wendell Kennedy.
Online condolences: www.clcurry.com