Alta Fay Newberry

Funeral services for Alta Fay Smith Newberry, 94, Overland Park, Kansas, will be held at 2:00 p.m., Saturday, November 13, 2021 in the Rose Chapel of Robertson-Drago Funeral Home.  

Mrs. Newberry entered into eternal rest November 6, 2021, with her two daughters beside her.  Alta was born at Dora, Missouri, May 13, 1927, to Henry and Cora Owen Smith.  She had ten brothers and sisters, all deceased.  She has one sister-in-law, Wilma Wolverton, of Grain Valley, Missouri. 

Alta lived a happy life.  In her teen years she met a handsome young man at church and there was an immediate attraction between them.  His name was Ben.  Soon after that, he was drafted to the Army for World War II and shipped to Germany.  During his time there, they wrote to each other.  She waited for him and, upon his return, he immediately went to see her.  They knew they wanted to spend their lives together, so on November 2, 1946, she and Benjamin Newberry eloped.  True love.  She and Ben had a very loving and lasting marriage of sixty-five years.  Their faith in God, as members of the Church of Christ, was priority in their life together.  In the early years, she and Ben lived in Kansas City, Missouri, and Alta filled her days taking care of her girls.  She enjoyed sewing for her girls and helping others with food, child care, or transportation.  She enjoyed helping others who were in need. They bought a small house in Kansas City to raise their girls. Life was good.  Eventually, her girls married and had children.  She loved being a grandmother with five grandkids.  Alta was very creative and loved doing crafts, ceramics, making quilts, and sewing.  In 1991, when Ben retired, they moved back home to the Ozarks, living in West Plains, Missouri.  They enjoyed their life there, surrounded by family and friends. When Ben passed away ten years ago, Alta moved to Overland Park, Kansas, living close to her daughter, Janet. Anyone that knew her, loved her.  She was very special and known by all as kind, caring. and loving.  She will be missed by all who loved her.

She and Ben had two daughters, Phyllis Hoover (husband, Don), Dearborn Heights, Michigan, and Janet Treanor (husband, Bob), Olathe, Kansas; five grandchildren, Darren Watson (Stacey), Amie Farkas (Matt), Timothy Watson (deceased), Melissa Settle (Dave), and Chris Reed (Christi); ten great-grandchildren; and many cousins, nieces, and nephews.

Visitation will be held prior to the service, from 12:30 to 2:00 p.m., Saturday, in the Rose Chapel,  Burial will be at Howell Memorial Park Cemetery.  Memorial contributions may be made to a charity of choice and may be left at or mailed to Robertson-Drago Funeral Home, 211 West Main, West Plains, MO  65775.