Mary Catherine (Nasrallah) Newman

Mary Catherine Nasrallah Newman, 56, went to be with her Lord on the morning of Sunday, October 4, 2020 after a brief bout with metastatic lung cancer. She passed peacefully with her husband and two siblings at her side.

A beloved woman of many names, numerous jobs and even more friends, she was “Babe” to her treasured husband of 20 years, Ken Newman. She was Mary Catherine Newman, Mary “Nat,” Mary “Naz” and Mary “Mare.”  And to her late father she was Pooh Bear.

Mary’s most current job was as Front Office Lead at the clinic for the homeless at the Sulzbacher Center. She had many hats there during her 12-year career. Her most enduring talent within the Sulzbacher family was practiced in the care of people.  She was a people-person and extrovert with a compassionate soul. She made you feel like the most important person in the room or in the world, whether you were a long-time friend, a neighbor, a patient having chemo treatment in the next booth, or a homeless man in the clinic. Other employment included positions with AFLAC, Haskell, The Murray Hill Theatre, Travis Chiropractic office, a pharmacy, a landscaping company and more.

Mary was a life long learner, graduating from UNF with a bachelor's degree in Marketing and Management and attending nursing school there. She was a student at St. Mark's Episcopal Day School in its charter year, Episcopal School of Jacksonville,  St. John’s Country Day, and Robert E. Lee High School class of 1982. When she needed to learn more about computers, she took classes and met the love of her life, husband Ken Newman, the teacher.

Even with about 1,200 Facebook friends, Mary didn’t really work the social media all that much. Her wall is filled with tributes of love and friendships. She had so many devoted IRL (in-real-life) friends, from leaders of companies to medical professionals, painters and dog lovers, colleagues and classmates and everything in between.

Mary was predeceased by her parents Dr. Victor Nash Nasrallah, Sr. and Gloria Yglesias Nasrallah and two nephews Anthony Joseph "A.J." Nasrallah, Jr. and Peter Nash Nasrallah.

Mary is survived by her husband of 20 years, Kenneth Newman of Jacksonville, FL; brothers, Victor N. “Pat” Nasrallah, Jr. (Jayne) of Fernandina Beach, FL and Anthony Joseph “Tony” Nasrallah, Sr. (Anne) of Jacksonville; sisters, Cynthia Nasrallah Macdonald of Jacksonville and Lori Ann Nasrallah of Dobbs Ferry, NY; nephews, Ben Nasrallah of Jacksonville, Michael Nasrallah (Theresa) of Winston-Salem, NC, Daniel Nasrallah (Hayley) of Los Angeles, CA, Jonathan Andrew Nasrallah (Jen Gavin) of Nashville, TN, Juliette Lillian Lloyd of Dobbs Ferry, NY; and numerous beloved aunts, uncles and cousins.

A casual visitation time for friends and family will held be from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Friday Oct. 9, at the Murray Hill Theatre, 932 Edgewood Ave. S., Jacksonville, FL 32205 (please don't forget your mask). A memorial service for family will be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, at St. Johns Presbyterian Church, 4275 Herschel St., Jacksonville, FL 32210, with Rev. Jonathan Lovelady officiating. Due to Covid precautions and limited seating , we invite you to watch the live-stream of the memorial service online at  www.sjpcjax.org.

In lieu of flowers, please donate in Mary’s memory to the Sulzbacher Center, 611 East Adams St., Jacksonville, FL 32202, a 501(c)(3) with the mission of “empowering homeless and at risk women, children and men through health, housing and income services thereby restoring hope and self-sufficiency.”  https://sulzbacherjax.org/