INNISFAIL – It was just over two years ago when Patricia Newman, Innisfail’s first elected female mayor, was asked to be a special guest at the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Tea at the town’s Ol’ Moose Hall.
There was a full house of 45 impeccably dressed women wearing their finest attire to salute the Queen’s 70-year reign.
It was the type of community gathering where Newman always shone.
Anna Lenters, president of the Innisfail and District Historical Society, noted Newman was seated at a table with the best of company, including current mayor Jean Barclay and the town’s then reigning Citizen of the Year, Heather Taylor.
Lenters then asked if they would like to share a few words.
Newman, then 88 years young, stood up to do so, and was immediately candid with a delightful touch of self-depreciation for her captive audience.
“It isn't that I've lost the ability to speak without notes. I never had it,” said Newman, triggering hefty laughter from attendees.
But she had stories to tell, even ones from the farthest reaches of her remarkable memory.
“When I was six-years-old the Queen's parents made a cross Canada trip by train, and I remember being taken by my parents to see them stopping at the Brandon railway station,” said Newman, who was born in the Manitoba city in 1933. “They came out on a little extended platform and graciously waved.
“I think you should look back on memories you have, because you could just drag things out you never thought you would remember.”
More than a half century later on June 4, 2022 at the Ol’ Moose Hall she also fondly recounted to her audience of meeting Queen Elizabeth II in Red Deer during the sovereign’s royal visit in 1990.
“Now lunching with the Queen my status in life means I'm at a table here and the Queen is at the front door. Nevertheless, I was close enough to see she chatted happily with her table guests, and quite frankly she was chewing and talking at the same time, which I thought was very human and charming,” said Newman to the devoted Queen supporters. “What discipline that woman has. I cannot imagine what strength and character it must take to have several duties to fulfill every day when, let's face it, you’re old and tired, and probably have arthritis.
“So, she is a natural and an admirable woman,” added Newman. “And she's worthy of receiving blessings, I'm sure.”
And so is Newman, in spades.
Patricia A. Newman passed away peacefully at Innisfail on Thursday, Aug. 15. She was 90 years young, and was predeceased by her husband Bob in 2019.
Many citizens in town and far beyond are now pausing to remember Newman, a beloved community leader in so many different ways.
But perhaps most importantly, she was a trailblazer for women who yearned for leadership roles.
In 1980, Newman became the first woman elected to Innisfail town council. Eight years later she was the first female in Innisfail to become mayor, and was re-elected to office in 1995.
On Nov. 26, 2021, Newman was proudly invited to sit alongside newly elected mayor Jean Barclay and councillors Janice Wing and Cindy Messaros at a private gala event at the Innisfail Library/Learning Centre called Celebrating Women Leaders In Our Community.
It was an event Newman was proud to attend but she was careful not to take the spotlight; the official photo by Innisfail photographer Tasha Chiu having her slightly behind the trio of first-time elected female community leaders.
“She always exemplified class and grace,” said Barclay, noting Newman’s kindness to her during the 2021 municipal election campaign. “In my opinion, she was an extremely intelligent woman, and it was all sprinkled with a little bit of feisty, which made it even better.”
