Meida Cleveland Newberry's Obituary
Life Legacy
Meida Emory Cleveland Newberry passed away peacefully on Wednesday, July 4, 2018. Funeral services will be held at Fort Valley First Baptist Church on Sunday, July 8, 2018, at 2:00 p.m. with Rev Ed McQueen officiating. Visitation will be in the sanctuary at 1:00 p.m. prior to the service. Burial will be on Monday, July 9, 2018, at 11:00 a.m. in Riverside Cemetery in Macon.Meida was born on December 23, 1924 in Crawford County, Georgia, to the late Octavia Pearson Cleveland and Grover Hendricks Cleveland, Sr. She was predeceased by her beloved husband, Louie Rice Newberry, of 59 years.Meida attended schools at Zenith and Fort Valley, GA. She graduated from Draughon's Business College in Atlanta which prepared her to work as a secretary at Warner Robins Air Force Base and later as secretary to A L Luce, Sr. at Blue-Bird Bus Company in Fort Valley.Following their marriage in 1945 in Fort Valley, Meida and Louie purchased a small farm in Peach County on what would become Newberry Lane. They gave new life to a beautiful country house and added ponds for conservation and fishing, which they generously shared with their community of friends, churches, and community organizations. Officials from the Soil Conservation Service would meet there for their annual planning meetings, and churches often held their Easter sunrise services there as well as other senior citizen social functions.Meida became a leader in community beautification endeavors serving on the Fort Valley Beautification Committee and later as co-chairman of SPRUCE (Support Peach, Remove Ugliness, Clean-up the Environment). In 1974, she received the Peach County Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year Award. She was active in the Fort Valley First Baptist Church teaching children and serving as Grounds Chairperson for several years.She was predeceased by her sisters, Marjorie Cleveland Hughes and Hazel Walters Moseman, and her brothers, Thomas Winfred Cleveland and Grover Hendricks Cleveland, Jr. Remaining to honor her memory are her sister-in-law, Betty Cleveland, and a number of nieces and nephews. Charles and Terree Newberry of Gray, GA, and David and Beth Cleveland of Fort Valley were especially attentive during her years spent at Villa Rose Assisted Living in Byron.Our family extends special appreciation to Kathy and Ray Goodson and the staff of Villa Rose whose unflagging attention to her care made her last years positive and pleasant.Condolences for the family may be left in the online guestbook at www.watsonhunt.com. Watson-Hunt Funeral Home in Perry has been entrusted with the arrangements.In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Children’s Committee at Fort Valley First Baptist Church, 209 Miller Street Fort Valley, GA 31030.
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