GREENVILLE – Priscilla Allen Askew Newton passed away Saturday, March 1, 2014 at Vidant Medical Center in Greenville.

Mrs. Newton was born in Windsor, NC, on March 19, 1944, a daughter of Rebecca Taylor Askew and the late Oquinn Askew. She was a graduate of Ahoskie High School and earned her bachelor’s degree in education from East Carolina University, where she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa sorority. Priscilla taught in several county public school systems in the area, including Hertford, Northampton, Bertie, and Pamlico.  She was a member of First Baptist Church of Ahoskie.  Priscilla won several awards in various shows over the years in painting, poetry, and embroidery.  She retired in 1985 due to a car accident.   Being concerned for others, Mrs. Newton organized a group from Roanoke Rapids to begin an organization against domestic violence in that county, and also was a reporter, focusing on how different groups of people were treated by the courts in the 1970’s.

Left to cherish her memory is her husband, Brooks Newton of Greenville; her son, Anthony Oquinn Kowalski and wife, Sandra, of Aulander; her daughter, Janice Barrett Cox and husband, David, of Marco Island, FL; her mother, Rebecca Taylor Askew of Aulander; her sister, Rebecca Askew Lowe of Edenton; and her grandsons, Jesse David and Jackson Douglas Cox.  Also surviving is her nephew, Thomas Oquinn Lowe and wife, Nancy, of Cary; niece, Catherine Lowe Langfitt and husband, Dean, of Jamestown, NC; and great nieces and nephews, Colin Oquinn Lowe, Kyndahl Rebecca Langfitt, Kelton Dean Langfitt, and Kerrigann SueAllen Langfitt

A celebration of life memorial service will be conducted on Saturday, March 8, 2014, at 2:00 p.m. in the Chapel of Garrett-Sykes Funeral Service of Ahoskie.  Inurnment will follow in the Ahoskie Cemetery.  The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 1:00 until 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, prior to services.

Family and friends may send condolences and sign the online guestbook by visiting www.garrettsykesfs.com.