Ellen Elizabeth Newton

ELLEN ELIZABETH BLAKEY NEWTON, was born March 9, 1930 in Charleston, West Virginia, the only child of Clyde and Sadie Walker Blakey. Ellen departed this life in the early morning of September 17, 2010 after a lengthy illness. When Ellen was very young her mother was remarried to Mr. Smith, whom she affectionately called “Smitty.” Ellen was raised by her step-father. Ellen graduated from Page-Jackson High School (Charleston, West Virgina) in 1947 and in 1951 went on to graduate from Storer College in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. Ellen Attended school with her hometown, life-long friend and pastor, Rev. Dr. Marcus G. Woods. Through Miss Sadie’s friendship with Mrs. Helen page Newton of Baltimore, whom she visited often, Ellen met Adolph William Newton and they were married on January 19, 1953. Of this union, there are five children: three daughters, Carmen, Lee and Norma and two sons, Anthony and Lamont. Even though Ellen was a college graduate, her children came first. She chose to work in the evening because Adolph worked at General Motors during the day, thus the children were monitored at all times. In 1959 and most of the 60’s Ellen managed the High Hat Café, a restaurant and tavern located on Wolfe Street in East Baltimore, one of the premiere night spots of the day. After moving to Queensberry Avenue in August 1969, Ellen went to work at Blenko Handcrafted Glassware, which was originally located on Park Heights Avenue near Belevedere. This allowed her to walk to work.. When Blenko went out of business, Ellen went to work at the Maryland Department of Human Resources and retired in 1984. Ellen and Adolph were the kind of parents who did not tolerate any nonsense. With five children, they managed to maintain a long lasting marriage of over 50 years and kept a Black family together. Ellen could always be found in the kitchen, cooking something, from her infamous fried chicken to her signature sweet potato pie. She was the ultimate mother, which qualified her as the grandest grandmother and the greatest great grand mommy. She was a member of The Lunch Bunch, a group of female family members which met monthly, at each others homes. Ellen was preceded in death by her husband Adolph in 2003 but she leaves to cherish her memory; five children and seven-teen grandchildren, Darnell, Danyell, Carla, Latoya, Renea, Ashley, Atlee, Corey, Jasmine, Justin, Jason, Jarvis, Tariq, Cole, Jessica, Jermaine, Jason and Jachai; 10-1/2 great grandchildren, Damar, Shemar, Darius, Kaitlyn, Dajuan, Sanayah, Olivia, Aaliyah, Iyanna and London; one daughter-in-law, Alfreda; one son –in-law, Wade Taylor; three sister-in-law, Helen, Thelma and Viola; three nephews Lloyd, Craig and Mark; two nieces, Jacquie and Helen, many loving cousins from Catonsville and a host of other relatives and friends.

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Ellen Elizabeth Newton

March 9, 1930 - September 17, 2010