Ilse Helene Newlon

Ilse Newlon of Round Rock was a caring mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and wife. She left this world for a better place on June 7, 2025, at the age of 83. She was a force of nature who will certainly be missed.
Mrs. Newlon was born Ilse Helene Lang on November 4, 1941, in Neubrandenburg, Germany. Her mother, Luise Katharina Kuhlmann, moved the family, including Ilse's brother, Klaus, to Bensheim, a small town outside Frankfurt, a few years later, crossing what would become the border between East and West Germany when the country was divided after World War II. In 1961, she met and married American serviceman Anthony Bailey, and shortly thereafter, they started a family.
The family soon moved to the United States, following Anthony to different Army posts both in the United States and back in Germany. In 1973, the final military base was Ft. Bliss in El Paso, Texas, and Ilse resided in the Lone Star State the rest of her life. The couple divorced in the 1980s, and Ilse would later marry Retired Lt. Colonel Glenn Newlon, who would precede her in death in 2007.
Ilse was outgoing. She loved to travel, having followed the cross in Israel, walking on the Great Wall of China, exploring Machu Picchu, and visiting national parks and other sites in North America.
She never met a stranger (and never met a parking space that she couldn't improve on either), and always spoke her mind. You never knew what she might be up to, like the time her family wondered where she had gone during a dinner out only to find her later seated with the venue's celebrity owner, Morgan Freeman, and his guests. She told the actor that Driving Miss Daisy was her favorite movie, and he took it all in stride.
She also loved Perry Mason, Lucille Ball, and her four canine boxers over a period of about four decades.
Ilse also had a strong work ethic and accomplished much. She was a longtime secretary for the local commander of the German Air Force in El Paso, obtained her associate's degree from San Antonio Community College, and became a paralegal when she moved to San Antonio with her husband, Glenn. She also earned her real estate license.
Ilse loved the holidays, too, especially Christmas, and she enjoyed attending a Christmas Eve service each year. Most recently, she was a member of Palm Valley Lutheran Church in Round Rock.
She is survived by her brother Klaus-Dieter Kuhlmann and his wife Gea; three children and their spouses, Tamara Chafin (Michael), Kenneth Bailey (Raymond Longoria), Mike Bailey (Nancy Stone); her stepchildren, Deborah Emigh Burger (Gerd), Eric Newlon (Scott Casey); six grandchildren, Austin Bailey, Audrey Bailey, McKenzie Chafin, Ben Chafin, Kai Guenther, and Marco Guenther; her nephew Wolfgang Kuhlmann (Birgit); niece Helga Uhrig (Marco), and two great-grandchildren.
Many thanks for both Volante Senior Living of Round Rock and the Blue Water Hospice Care team that took care of Ilse in her final few months.
Donations can be made to the Boxer Rescue of Austin or the Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter in lieu of flowers.
A Memorial Service will be conducted on Saturday, June 21 at 11 a.m. at Palm Valley Lutheran Church in Round Rock, 2500 E Palm Valley Blvd, with a reception afterwards.
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