Betty Brothers Newman, 88, went to be with the Lord on Tuesday, March 5, 2013, surrounded by her children. Born in Suffolk, she was the daughter of the late Ruth W. and Lyman Riddick Brothers Sr. She was predeceased by her husband of 40 years, John Staley Newman Sr.

Betty was a graduate of Suffolk High School and Longwood College. Betty retired after 24 years as an elementary school teacher with Suffolk Public Schools. For many years, she was an active member of Ebenezer United Methodist Church and the United Methodist Women. She was a devoted mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.

Left to cherish her memory are her four devoted children, Anne Moody and her husband, Chuck, of New Bern, N.C., Leigh Bennett and her husband, John, of Chesapeake, Va., Margaret Balfe and her husband, Kevin, of Silver Spring, Md., and her son, John S. Newman Jr., of Suffolk, Va., plus five grandchildren, Jeff and Michael Moody, Jim Bailey, Anna Bailey Shelton and Matt Balfe, four great-grandchildren, and 10 nieces and nephews.

A service to celebrate the life of Betty will be held Saturday, March 9, 2013, at 11 a.m. in Ebenezer United Methodist Church, 1589 Steeple Drive, Suffolk, VA 23433 by the Rev. Carl J. LeMon, with burial following the service in Mt. Zion Cemetery. The family will receive friends in the R.W. Baker & Co. Funeral Home and Crematory, 509 W. Washington St., in Suffolk, Va., on Friday March 8, 2013, from 6 to 8 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Ebenezer United Methodist Church. Condolences may be registered at www.rwbakerfh.com.