Martha Ann (Fickle) Newman, age 81 years, of Warrensburg, Missouri passed away Saturday, September 5, 2026 at her home. Funeral services will be held at 11:00am Thursday, September 10, 2026 at the Vansant-Mills Chapel, Clinton. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service from 10:00-11:00am. Interment will follow in Blairstown Cemetery, Blairstown, Missouri. In lieu of flowers, to honor Martha's many years as an Adult Protection Social Worker for the elderly, memorial donations may be made on her behalf to Care Connection for Aging Services at https://goaging.org/donate/ Fond memories and condolences can be left online at www.vansant-millfuneralhome.com .

Martha Ann Newman (Fickle) was born on March 23, 1945, in Butler, Missouri. Martha, or Mitt, as she was called by many, was the daughter of Ernest (Bud) Forrest Fickle, Sr. and Maude Eva Reitz. Her father passed away before her birth, so she was raised by her mother in Creighton, Missouri. Although times were financially hard, Martha shared many cherished memories of growing up with her mom, her brother Forrest, and her sister Etta Mae. She greatly enjoyed her close relationships with her older sister Bea and brother-in-law Wilbur. She boasted of her enjoyable memories of the time spent with her many nephews and nieces.

Friendship was equally important to Martha. She often spoke about how fortunate she was to have such a close group of lifelong friends from her school years and, later, the many more wonderful friends she made through work and in Blairstown. Martha attended school in Creighton, Missouri. When her mother passed away, Martha was still in high school. A dedicated and successful student, she immediately sought a G.E.D and went to work.

As a life-long proponent of higher education, Martha later furthered her education in her fifties to achieve an Associate Degree from Connors State College and a Bachelor's Degree in Social Work from Southern Nazarene University. And yes, she expected and got all A's throughout. Only seventeen, Martha moved to Kansas City to live with her childhood friend and work at the telephone office. It was an exciting time as she learned about big-city life. At eighteen, while visiting family in Blairstown, Missouri, to recover from appendicitis surgery, she met her soon-to-be husband, Robert (Bob) Newman. After a whirlwind courtship of just eighteen days, Martha and Bob married on June 4, 1963. Martha later recalled that Bob had two hopes for marriage: that she could make biscuits and wanted children. Martha assured him that she could—and she did. Their love for one another would be evident throughout their years together.

After marrying, the newlyweds moved to Fort Richardson Army Post in Alaska, where Bob was stationed with the U.S. Army. Martha wasn't fond of her time in Alaska—especially after experiencing the massive 1964 earthquake—but it was there that she and Bob welcomed their first child, Goldie. Over the next several years, Bob's military assignments took the family to Iowa and Kansas before they returned to Blairstown, Missouri. During those years, Martha and Bob were equally thrilled by the births of their daughter Beverly and soon after their son Bill. During the next few years, Martha made a comfortable and loving home for her family, worked at her uncle's store, and then worked again at the telephone company. She served a number of years as secretary of the Blairstown City Council.

In 1975, after her husband Bob passed away in a car accident, Martha devoted her life to raising their children, with plenty of assistance from family and friends. Many days, she worked and then drove forty miles one way to attend plays, band concerts, and baseball games and other activities to support her kids. During these years, Martha began what would become a successful career in social work, first in Missouri and later in Oklahoma. She began as a secretary, became a caseworker serving the aging, and eventually finished her career as a Supervisor in Adult Protective Services. Her clients loved her for her kindness and her personal commitment to their care. Martha wasn't satisfied until she had done everything she could to help someone—and then she did more. Her dedication was recognized when she was named Worker of the Year in Wagoner County, and when she had a day proclaimed in her honor throughout the state of Oklahoma.

After her children were grown, Martha moved to Wagoner, Oklahoma, in 1988 to be near her sister Etta Mae and brother-in-law Grady Upshaw. There, she met Grady's cousin, Ward Upshaw. Martha and Ward became loving companions and shared many happy years together until his passing in 2005. Together, Martha and Ward traveled throughout the West and Southwest and enjoyed raising and racing their horse, Folly. Derby Day rarely passed without Martha and Etta Mae sporting spectacular hats while enthusiastically cheering for their favorite contenders. In 2007, Martha moved back to Missouri to Holden and later to Warrensburg. Now retired, she spent her days reading her beloved mystery and suspense novels, watching her favorite television shows, playing games on her computer, taking occasional trips to the casino, and enjoying family and friends in person and through social media.

As always, she continued to spoil her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and others by choosing well-researched gifts and offering her help whenever and however needed. She did her best to send out hand-selected birthday cards with loving messages to all, and the size of her annual Christmas card list was legendary. With the exception of the Fourth of July, which she detested, Martha was a holiday celebration queen who hosted wonderful family gatherings with more delicious food than any group could eat with plenty of left-overs to go home with all. Easter will not be the same without her annual Peeps party.

Martha grew up attending Church of God, was baptized at age nineteen as a Baptist, and later became a member of the Holden Methodist Church. Earliest memories include her Grandpa Hank Reitz holding the songbook up for her to sing even though he didn't join in, simply because she loved singing. She also fondly recalled in the small town of Creighton that the children rotated weekly and attended each other's churches together. Martha believed that through the Lord all things are possible and looked forward to the day she would spend eternity in his Kingdom.

Martha wishes to be remembered for loving the Lord, and her family and friends, and for being so grateful for her time spent with such wonderful people.

Martha is survived by her beloved sister-in-law, Anita Fickle; daughter Goldie and son-in-law Bob Edwards of Warrensburg, MO; daughter Beverly Newman of Leawood, KS; son Bill and daughter-in-law Debbie Newman of Stover, MO; her daughter of heart Robin Osborne of Warrensburg, MO; and many special nephews and nieces, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and friends.

Preceding her in death were husband Bob Newman, companion Ward Upshaw, grandparents, Henry and Lucy Reitz, parents Ernest and Maude Fickle, sister Bea and brother-in-law Wilbur Westendorff, sister Etta Mae and brother-in-law, Grady Upshaw, and brother Forrest Fickle.

Arrangements have been entrusted to Vansant-Mills Funeral Home of Clinton, Missouri.