LaRayne Newman
LaRayne Joyce Newman, 88, of Ooltewah, Tennessee, went to sleep in the arms of Jesus on December 11, 2021.
LaRayne would want all who read this to rejoice for her! She’d want you to know God has blessed her with a most extraordinary life. One full of the love of her family, laughter of lifelong friends, beautiful music, freshly baked bread, cross-country adventures, avocado enchiladas, and almost more memories than one lifetime can hold. She’d also want you to know how peacefully she passed. Jesus allowed her to simply fall asleep, no doubt dreaming of His soon coming when He will call her by name and awaken her to an eternity with those LaRayne cared about so much. This certainly includes all her dear church family in the Seventh-Day Adventist Church – the one place she felt most at home.
Over the course of her 88 years, LaRayne experienced the heights of pure joy and depths of great loss. Yet through it all, she never lost her smile. Best known for her tiny stature, LaRayne continually surprised people by her spunky personality, strong will, and steadfast love. Not to mention their amazement over the powerhouse she became each time she sat behind a piano! LaRayne never met a keyboard she could not play or a person she could not embrace. That was simply the kind of person, daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandma, friend, and ‘Grammy’ that she was.
LaRayne was preceded in death by her husband of 27 years, Walter H. Newman; parents, Beryl and Luella (Coon) Whitford; siblings, Claudia Marrs, Curtis Whitford, and Verla Price; and oldest daughter, Cindi Silverstein.
She is survived by her brother, Claire Whitford; son, Douglas Wellman; daughter, Connie Peters (Dr. Richard Peters); the father of her three children, Loren Wellman Jr., grandchildren, Tiffany Kelly (Thomas Kelly), Ashley Perrystein (Heather Perrystein) and Jessica Peters; great-grandson, Tommy Kelly; and several nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 15, in the Heritage Funeral Home chapel with Pastor Jerry Arnold officiating. Burial will follow in Collegedale Memorial Park.
Please visit www.heritagechattanooga.com to share words of comfort and view the memorial tribute.
The family will receive friends from 12-2 P.M. on Wednesday, Dec. 15, at Heritage Funeral Home, 7454 E. Brainerd Road, Chattanooga, Tn. 37421.