Elizabeth Fox Newman

Elizabeth Fox Newman passed away peacefully surrounded by her loving family on January 5 at the age of 90. She will be greatly missed by her devoted family and her many friends, but all agree that heaven just got a lot more fun upon her arrival. If there weren’t already parties and parades in heaven, there certainly will be now.

Known by friends and family as “Betty” and by her adoring grandchildren as “Meme,” she was born in Mobile, Alabama on December 4, 1933. She was raised by her parents, H. Bennett Fox and Nora Glenny Fox in New Orleans, attending the Sacred Heart School in New Orleans and then the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, thus sparking a lifelong rivalry with her family and friends, most of whom attended LSU.

She made her debut during the 1955 Mardi Gras Season and was Queen of Nereus that year. She remained active with the organization throughout her life, attending the Queen’s Luncheon annually. New Orleans culture was in her heart and soul and Mardi Gras always remained her favorite time of year. She was also a member of the Southern Yacht Club, where she was a fixture with her family over the years. She was a passionate volunteer at the WWII Museum and also volunteered at the Isidore Newman School and Louise S. McGehee School bookstores while her children attended those schools. Among her many hobbies were playing bridge and bingo with her family and friends.

In 1957, Betty married the love of her life, Richard Trudeau Newman, with whom she raised their five children, first in New Orleans and then Slidell. She moved to Mandeville after Hurricane Katrina. She had a very successful career as a real estate broker for 60 years in St. Tammany Parish, running the Richard Newman Real Estate business along with her husband and then leading the company herself after his death. She was also a dedicated mother and grandmother and was adored by her extended family. All of her grandchildren agree that she was extraordinary, consistently there for them during the best of times and also during their most difficult times. She always wanted to join them in whatever they were doing for fun, especially during Mardi Gras. She was the first on the dance floor at a wedding and the first to be there for a grandchild with cancer. Everyone who was fortunate enough to know her was charmed by her and happily participated in her irresistibly infectious joie de vivre.

Betty was preceded in death by her loving husband, Richard Trudeau Newman and her beloved sister, Edith Fox Murphy. She is survived by her five children: Elizabeth “Glenny” Newman Legendre and husband Armant and their children Elise and James; Marguerite “Margee” Newman Godwin, her husband Larry and their children Harrison, Katie and Benjamin; Richard T. Newman Jr. and his son Brycen; Nora Newman Passaro and her husband Jamie and their children Amalie, Michael, Bailey and Christian; Charlotte Newman and her children Bennett and Cece. She is also survived by five great-grandchildren.

A Funeral Mass will be held at Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home, 5100 Pontchartrain Blvd., on Wednesday, January 10, 2024 at 2:00pm. Visitation will be from 12:00pm until 2:00pm. Interment will take place in Metairie Cemetery.

The family request that, in lieu of flowers, donations be sent to the WWII Museum, 945 Magazine Street, New Orleans, LA‎. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/give

To share your fond thoughts, memories, and condolences with the family, please visit the online guestbook at lakelawnmetairie.com.