Ada Zeva Newsom was born on June 9, 1917 in Major County west of Fairview to Earl and Hazel Slater. Ada grew up on a farm near Lone Mountain in the Gloss Mountains.
She was home-schooled by her mother, Hazel for her first year, and then attended the one-room school at Media, Oklahoma. She attended high school at Cheyenne Valley, a consolidated school about 15 miles from her home.

She adopted her mother’s dream of becoming a teacher and entered Northwestern State Teachers College in Alva in the fall of 1935. She helped finance her education by working for the National Youth Administration during her freshman year for her room and board.

After two years and one summer term in college, she earned her one - year state certificate and began teaching at the age of 20 in a one-room country school at Fairbanks, Oklahoma, where she was known as Miss Ada.

The following year, she taught at Togo, another one-room school near her home in the Gloss Mountains. She was living at home during this time and met another teacher, Dalward Newsom who was teaching at Cheyenne Valley. They were married in 1940, and subsequently both taught at Cheyenne Valley.

During these years, Ada completed the necessary correspondence courses with summer sessions at the college in Alva, and received her bachelors degree and her Life Teaching Certificate in the summer of 1940. Following their time in Cheyenne Valley, Ada taught at Quinlin, Oklahoma; Hartner, Kansas; Dacoma, Oklahoma and finally in Enid, Oklahoma.

In Enid, she taught second grade at Roosevelt Grade School for nine years. In 1954 she transferred to Adams Grade School and taught second and third grades. She retired in 1979 after 33 years of teaching.

While in Enid, she was involved in the Philllips University Student Teaching Program. She also did graduate work at Phillips. During the summer, she supervised arts and crafts for the Enid Summer Recreation Program in the city parks. She was active in the Enid Education Association, Kappa Kappa Iota, Delta Kappa Gamma, First United Methodist Church and American University Women.

After retirement, she was active in Garfield Retired Teachers, serving as vice president and yearbook chairman.

After ninety-six years of selfless service, Ada died Tuesday, December 10, 2013.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Earl and Hazel; her brother, Alfred; her sister, Lena; and her beloved husband, Dalward.

She is survived by her sons, Bobby and his wife, Waynetta; Doyle and his wife, Sue; her daughter, Denise and her husband, Frank; three grandsons, Gant and his wife, Amy; Wade and his wife, Sharon; and Clint and his wife, Holly; four great-grandchildren, Clara, Lila, Porter and Crew.

Funeral services will be held in the Ladusau-Evans Funeral Home Chapel, Thursday, December 12, 2013 at 2:00 pm. Rev. Jim Edmison will officiate. Burial will be in the Memorial Park Cemetery.

Memorials may be made to Donor’s Choice. Condolences may be made online at www.ladusauevans.com

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