Barbara Newton Thomas

Barbara Newton Thomas, 91, of Mount Dora, died on September 3, 2025, at home. She was the widow of Dexter William Thomas.

Born Barbara Ann Newton on August 23, 1934, in Yonge’s Island, SC, she was the seventh of eight children of the late Frank Frampton Newton and Julia Athalie Chaplin. Her early years in South Carolina’s Low Country continued to be a strong influence throughout her life, especially on her sense of hospitality.

After graduating from St. Paul’s High School in 1952, she followed two of her brothers to Mars Hill College in North Carolina, where she earned her A.A. in 1954. Returning to Charleston, she worked at Montgomery Ward in the Finance Department. It was there she met Dexter, who was working in Sales. They married in June of 1955 and began a family that would eventually include three daughters. Their marriage would last for 67 years, until Dexter’s death in 2023.

Dexter’s military service took the family to various duty stations, including Tacoma, Washington and Fairbanks, Alaska, where Dexter and Barbara helped to literally build a new church. After a final assignment at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, Dexter retired from the military and began a second career in the federal government. In the late 1970s, Barbara and Dexter built a house in the new planned community of Lake Ridge, in Prince William County, Virginia. It would remain their home for over four decades.

Barbara enjoyed working in positions that still allowed her to be present with her family. In Maryland, she had been a tutor for children who could not attend school in person. After the move to Lake Ridge, she worked for many years as a hostess for the community. She loved interacting with potential home buyers, developers, and Realtors as Lake Ridge grew.

She and Dexter had been members of Lake Ridge Baptist Church since 1979, and after their retirement, they were active volunteers with the Senior ministry there, planning trips and events and driving members to appointments or on errands. Their many friends from the “Senior Saints” kept them busy and active, and their social calendar was full.

After Dexter’s passing, Barbara relocated to the home of her daughter and son-in-law in Mount Dora, where she enjoyed her new church and spending time with her great-grandchildren.

Barbara epitomized the gift of hospitality. She loved to welcome – and feed – family, friends, and neighbors. She made countless pots of her famous shrimp creole and pans of from-scratch lasagna. Her many cakes and casseroles are still family favorites. She introduced new family members to grits and boiled peanuts, and of course none of her dinners was complete without a pitcher of her signature sweet, iced tea.

She always took great care to look her best and developed a deep loyalty to her favorite brands. She never failed to make an impression in her new season’s fashions from J. Jill, her high-top Chuck Taylor sneakers (in a rainbow of colors to match every outfit), and especially her Mary Kay makeup, which kept her skin beautiful until the end.

Barbara was preceded in death by her husband Dexter and six of her siblings. In addition to her sister Athalie, she is survived by three daughters, Kathy T. Gunnels and her husband Jim of Argyle, Texas, Kimberly T. O’Neal and her husband David of Mount Dora, Florida, and Kristina T. Marshall and her husband Tim of Woodbridge; six grandchildren, Stephen O’Neal (Porscha), Blair Glenn (Michael), Katey Selleri (Alessio), Emily Young (Chris), Brooke Vancil (Matt), and Evan Marshall; and eleven great-grandchildren, Bentley, Harper, Luca, David, McKinley, Hudson, Scarlett, Nathan, Audrey, Briley, and Joy.

A memorial service will be held at 3:00 pm on Saturday, September 13th, at First Baptist Church of Mount Dora, 1000 E. 1st Ave., Mount Dora, FL, 32757, officiated by Dr. Thomas Jamieson. The family will receive friends at the church a half-hour prior to the service. A reception will follow the service at 6626 Sinisi Drive, Mount Dora.