SMITHFIELD—Patrick John Newman Sr., recent resident of Smithfield, and former resident of Weems, went to be at peace with the Lord on July 30, 2020, at the age of 86.
Patrick was born April 25, 1934, the start to a life full of adventure and many family members who loved him deeply.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Ernest and Harriet Newman; his sister, Eileen Crudgington (Tommy); his son-in-law, Don Welch; and his grandson, Jonathan S. Lutz.
He is survived by Sheila Botting Newman, his loving wife of 63 years; his brother, Roger Newman (Ginny); and four children, daughters, Tammy Welch (Larry) and Michelle Lutz (Curt), and sons, Wesley Newman (April) and Patrick Newman, Jr. (Diana).
He is a proud grandfather of 14 grandchildren, Michelle Welch Borges (Jeff), Donnie Welch, Kerry Pagel (Brett), Dontaye Lutz, Tommy Lutz, Nathanael Lutz, Paul Lutz (Kylie), Simon Lutz, Christina Lutz, Matthew Newman, Ashley Newman, Patrick Newman III, Daniela Newman and Christina Newman; and a proud great-grandfather to two great-grandchildren, Maisy Pagel and Jonathan N. Lutz.
Patrick, or Pat as many called him, was born and raised in West Ham, a suburb of London, England, survived the London Blitz and the Battle of Britain, where he lived through the first dozen of his many stories that he loved to tell his grandchildren. He trained to be an executive chef in Paris, France, before deploying to Bermuda as a corporal in the English Army Catering Core. It was there in Bermuda that he met the love of his life, Sheila. The couple moved to Canada where Pat married Sheila at Knox Presbyterian Church in Bracebridge, Ontario.
While working as a chef in Toronto, Pat and Sheila started their family with the births of Tammy and Wes. The family shortly immigrated to Washington, D.C., where Michelle and Patrick were born. Pat worked as a chef at the Army-Navy Club in Washington, D.C., and the Commonwealth Club in Richmond.
He exited the kitchen to work as a club manager at the Petersburg Country Club before moving to Greensboro, N.C., to work at the Starmount Forest Country Club. He then moved to Pennsylvania to manage Silver Creek Country Club before finishing his career at Squires Country Club.
After his retirement, Pat and Sheila moved to Weems, where Pat was an active member at Campbell Memorial Presbyterian Church, singing in the church choir and putting his cooking skills to good use with the annual barbecue fundraiser. He was also able to enjoy his passion for gardening and fishing in Weems, hobbies he liked to share with his grandchildren.
After all these years, Pat always proclaimed that he had two best accomplishments—his marriage of 63 years to his wife Sheila and raising four children who were married long-term to their spouses.
He was an avid fan of West Ham United Football Club and the Washington Redskins, managing to trick several of his grandchildren to root for these lovable perennial losers. He also enjoyed amazing his grandchildren with his infamous rendition of “two little dickie birds.” He was a loving father, grandfather, great grandfather, son and brother, who loved having his grandchildren in the kitchen learning to cook.
Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, August 8, at Currie Funeral Home and Crematory, 116 East Church Street, Kilmarnock. The family will be available to ‘socially distance’ visit with friends in the funeral home 30 minutes immediately after the service.
Memorial contributions may be made to Bay Aging, Meals on Wheels, P. O. Box 610, Urbanna, VA 23175.
