Mary Frances Harrison Newsome

Mary Frances Harrison Newsome, aged 97, passed away peacefully on September 25, 2024, at her home in Wrightsville.

Born June 4, 1927, in Dublin, Georgia, Mary Frances was the daughter of the late Carnage B. Harrison, lawyer and clerk of the Superior Court Johnson County, Georgia and Linnie Pauline Claxton Harrison, owner and founder of Harrison 's Department Store in Wrightsville. Mary Frances was the maternal granddaughter of the late Charlie Lamar and Mary Alice Powell Claxton of Kite, Georgia and the paternal granddaughter of the late Green B. and Sallie Frances Clark Harrison of Johnson County and Wrightsville, GA. She was a fourth-generation Johnson Countian.

Mary Frances was enrolled in the Baby Cradle Roll Department of Brown Memorial Baptist Church and grew up in all their organizations. She joined the church at twelve years of age on a Wednesday night prayer service when Dr. Henry Mitchell was pastor. She has served on most all the church's committees and at death was the oldest surviving member of the church. She helped organize the Sunshine Class for women in 1980 and served as teacher for forty years.

Mrs. Newsome was graduated from Wrightsville High School Senior Class as Valedictorian in 1943 at 16. She then attended Mercer University in Macon where her father and many Harrison relatives had attended. At Mercer, she was secretary-treasurer of the Sophomore Class, member of the Alpha Delta Pi sorority, President of the 1946 Senior Class, and Sponsor, Maid of Honor on May Day, Vice-President of Girls' Student Government, tapped for Cardinal Key National Honor Society, a Pan-Hellenic Representative, Y.W.A. member, and Member of the Ciceronian Literary Society, Alembic Club, Mercer Players and Cluster Magazine Staff. She also was sweetheart and Sponsor of Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity.

She completed her formal education with a year of graduate studies in Counseling at The University of Georgia in Athens. She taught school four years, but after her mother's death, she owned and operated Harrison's Department Store in Wrightsville for the next 49 years until 2000 at which time she closed the store and retired.

She was a charter member of the Johnson County Historical Society and on the Wrightsville Johnson County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. She was honored as an Outstanding Citizen of Georgia and listed in the National Register of Who's Who as a life member in 1998 in Washington D.C. She was invited and inducted into the First Families of Georgia Society.

In October 1988, Mrs. Newsome had the distinct honor of being selected President of Harrison Families of Georgia, Inc. and served two terms in that office. She, also, actively participated in Claxton Family Reunions—having served on the Historical Committee for all three Claxton Family History Books. For both Harrison and Claxton families she was chairwoman for many other projects. In addition to genealogical articles for Claxton History Books I, II, and III, Mrs. Newsome researched and wrote articles for Sandersville, Washington County, Georgia, Historical Society on the Newsome, Rogers, Harrison, Frost, Davis, and Fluker families. She was a member of National Society Daughters of the American Revolutions, John Laurens Chapter, Dublin, Georgia and National Society Colonial Dames XVII Century, John Sumner Chapter. She was a member of the Georgia State Society, Daughters of the American Revolution.

In the Fall of 2021, the Mercerian Alumni Magazine honored Mary Frances as a loyal giver to Mercer University for 60 years. The article also told of her Mercer years with pictures of then and now.

Mrs. Newsome was preceded by her husband, Robert Lewis Newsome, Jr. and daughter, Mary Paula Newsome. Survivors include two sons, Robert Lewis Newsome III and Carnage Harrison Newsome (Leigh) and two grandchildren, Katherine Harrison Newsome and Robert Lewis Newsome IV.

Services for Mrs. Mary Frances Harrison Newsome will be held on Tuesday October 1, 2024 at 2:00pm in the sanctuary of Brown Memorial Baptist Church, Wrightsville, Georgia, with Reverend Burton Dixon officiating. Visitation will be at 1:00pm at the church. Interment will follow in the family plot in Westview Cemetery, Wrightsville, Georgia.

Honorary pallbearers will be the Sunshine Class and Aaron Price. Active pallbearers will be Howard Stephenson, Ricky Snell, Roy Powell, Rex Tanner, Rodney Martin, and Clay Chester.

Stanley Funeral Home and Crematory/Wrightsville Chapel has charge of funeral arrangements.