Edith Newsom

1932 - 2025

Edith G. Newsom, 93, of Madison, Va., passed away peacefully at her home on November 11, 2025, after a long and beautifully lived life.

Edith was born and raised in Madison, Va., where she built deep roots that would carry her throughout her life. She was the devoted wife of Benjamin Byrd Newsom, the love of her life, who preceded her in death after being POW/MIA/KIA in the Vietnam War.

During their 15 years of marriage before Byrd's deployment to Vietnam, the couple lived in Texas, Mississippi, Illinois, Oklahoma, and Nevada, as part of Byrd's military career, before Edith brought her two children, Diane and Ben, to Madison when Byrd left for Vietnam.

Left widowed far too young, Edith's courage and resilience defined her. With extraordinary strength, she raised their two children on her own, teaching them by example what it means to stand tall in the face of hardship, to love fiercely, and to persevere.

A three-time cancer survivor, Edith was a fighter in every sense of the word -- steady, determined, and quietly powerful. Yet she paired that strength with warmth and grace.

In her adult years, Edith found joy in some of life's simplest pleasures. She was an active member of the Madison Garden Club, where her passion for roses and flower arranging won her numerous first-place ribbons. She loved creating and maintaining her flower gardens, reading, baking, sewing, and tending to her home. She never missed a Hallmark Christmas movie. Above all else, she cherished time with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, who were the light of her life and the joy of her later years.

Edith was predeceased by her beloved husband, Byrd; her son, Benjamin B. Newsom, Jr.; her parents, Fannie Dolorese and Thomas Jackson Smith; and her siblings, Frances D. Grubbs, Thomas J. Smith, Jr., and Mary Elizabeth Delavigne.

She is survived by her daughter, Diane Thompson (Gerry); her daughter-in-law, Linda Newsom; her grandchildren, Andrew Thompson (Nicole), Stuart Newsom, Lindsey Avchen (Jared), Nicholas Thompson (Katherine) and Spencer Newsom; and her seven great-grandchildren, Thatcher, Bowen, Jude, Rhodes, and Ellie Thompson, and Cameron and Asher Avchen, all of whom she adored beyond measure.

In lieu of flowers, the family invites donations to Wounded Warrior Project or Tunnel to Towers Foundation, in Edith's memory.

A service will be held at 1 p.m. on November 22, 2025, at the Madison United Methodist Church, Madison, Va.

As the family takes comfort in knowing Edith is reunited at last with her beloved Byrd, it feels especially fitting that she left this world on Veterans Day, the very day that honors his service and sacrifice. After decades of strength, faith, and devotion, they are finally together again.