Thurmond Burnett          Phone: (803)637-6536

David T. Burnett               Fax: (803)637-6006

Edgefield Mercantile Funeral Home, Inc.

Established 1902

801 Columbia Road

Post Office Box 389

Edgefield, South Carolina 29824

Mary Elizabeth Newton, 101, went to be with the Lord on Saturday, March 09, 2019 at her residence, Edgefield County Hospital.

Graveside services will be held at 12 noon Tuesday, March 12, 2019 at Magnolia Cemetery in Charleston, South Carolina.

Ms. Newton was born in Charleston and was the daughter of the late Emerson Harvey and Mary Kate Alexander Newton. She graduated Cum Laude from Furman in 1939 and taught for over 60 years retiring from Fort Jackson in Columbia.

An active member of First Baptist Church in Columbia, she played piano for the Children’s Department, sang in the church choir for over 30 years, and taught in the International Program for 25 years.

Ms. Newton was deeply philanthropic with the citizens of South Carolina and the University of South Carolina which held a special place in her heart.  This is where she established the Mary Elizabeth Newton Fellowship for the Arnold School of Public Health to support doctoral students in the Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior. The Mary Elizabeth Newton Fellowship will continue to provide new opportunities to deserving students and improving the health and betterment of South Carolinians in perpetuity.

Ms. Newton was also a valued friend of the University of South Carolina Libraries. She established the Mary Elizabeth Newton Rare Books and Special Collections Endowment donating significant collections of rare books and sheet music herself.

She is survived by her sister, Martha Lee Newton Gibson; and four nephews; five nieces; and six grand-nephews and nieces.

Memorials may be made to the Mary Elizabeth Newton Fellowship; mail to Melissa Hensley, Arnold School of Public Health, Office of Development, 915 Greene St., 421, Columbia, SC 29208. Please make checks payable to USC Educational Foundation, include #1B1132 – E. Newton Fellowship, in the memo line.

The family would like to say a special thank you to the Edgefield County Hospital Staff and friends.

Edgefield Mercantile Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Please sign the online register book at www.edgefieldmercantilefh.com.