Laura Newman, 70, passed away at home in Wharton, Texas on October 27, 2024. She had been in declining health since having a stroke in 2018, falling in 2021, and getting congestive heart failure in 2023.
Born in Illinois and raised in Indiana, Laura came to Texas in 1975 and lived in Houston and in Sugar Land before retiring to Wharton County in 2017. A graduate of Purdue University, Laura worked primarily in the petrochemical engineering and construction industry, including 26 years with Flour Corporation and three years with Jacobs. Additionally, she worked from 1984 to 1989 for Hughes Aircraft Company in Los Angeles, California, and, in retirement, at the Kansas City Southern Railways intermodal yard in Kendleton, Texas in 2016-2018.
Laura was preceded in death by both parents and all five siblings. She is survived by her beloved niece, Elaine, who cared for Laura in her final years, and by several nieces and nephews.
Laura had preselected this 1977 photograph of herself because she said it captured her love of reading newspapers throughout her adult life.
