Dallas Newman

Dallas Melanie Newman was born in Lexington, Nebraska on September 22, 1958 and passed away in her home in Niceville, Florida on January 10, 2020 after losing her long battle with ALS. She was surrounded by her family and close friends. She is survived by her husband Rick, children Zach (spouse Alyse) and Katie (spouse Fred) and her grandsons Zander and Hank.

Dallas graduated from Staples High School in 1976 and from St. Luke’s School of Nursing in Duluth, Minnesota in 1979. She worked as a Labor and Delivery nurse for majority of her career and spent her last years of nursing working at an outpatient surgery center. She had a passion for caring for and connecting with people, which helped make her such a wonderful nurse. Some of her biggest triumphs in her career had nothing to do with medicine, but rather her ability to make connections with her patients which led to lifelong friendships.

Dallas married Rick on a hot summer day on July 12, 1980 in Staples, Minnesota. She would never let people forget that the church did not have any air conditioning which did not bode well for all the makeup, polyester and hairspray (oh the good ole 80’s). Rick entered into active duty as an Officer in the USAF in November 1980. One of the first assignments Rick received was in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was here that Dallas gave birth to her first born, Zachary Daniel. Shortly thereafter, the family was stationed to Merced, California, where she gave birth to her second child, Katelyn Noelle, exactly three years to the day after Zach was born.

Dallas took great pride in being an Officer’s wife.  She served for many years on the board of the Officer’s Wives Club in California and eventually served as the President.

Another one of Dallas’ passions was selling Longaberger baskets. If you ask Rick, she was also very passionate about buying these baskets. She sold baskets for over 20 years and took several girls trips to visit the factory in Dresden, Ohio. Dallas was a lover of planning trips and vacations. She planned a trip every year for a group of friends to Disney World. She also loved girls trips to Natchez, Mississippi where she could shop and attend fairs and festivals with her friends. Although Dallas loved her girls trips, her favorite kind of vacation was a cruise. She loved going with family and friends, but her absolute favorite cruising buddy was Rick.

For the past 10 years, Dallas coordinated an annual luncheon to benefit and raise money for breast cancer awareness. Over the course of these luncheons, she was able to help raise more than $35,000 that was donated to various cancer charities. Every year the luncheon would come and go and she would say she was done running the luncheon due to the stress the planning caused her. Then, sure enough, the next Spring would roll around and she would call the luncheon a labor of love and start discussing themes and ideas. That was the beauty of Dallas; no matter how tired and stressed she was, she was always there to lend a helping hand or friendly ear.

Dallas took great pride in her family, especially her children. She was always involved in their activities, especially band and chorus. She loved to volunteer for the high school chorus trips where she could serve as the nurse for the trip while also spending time with her daughter Katie. Her love for the chorus continued even after her kids had graduated and she continued to serve as the nurse on these trips.

There is no way to describe Dallas’ life without mentioning her love for music and singing. From a young age, Dallas loved to sing. Knowing that she passed that down to her children, and even her husband, truly put a smile on her face. When the family finally settled in Niceville, Florida, they became members of St. Paul Lutheran Church where Dallas became a staple in the choir and praise team. Nothing gave her more joy than worshiping and singing with her family and friends at St. Paul. St. Paul became a second home to Dallas, and it is where she has chosen to rest so that she will always be close to family, friends and music.

Lastly, Dallas was a lover of dogs. Particularly, Dallas had an affinity for strays and runaways. She always felt that every dog deserved to belong to a loving forever family.

She will be remembered by her family and friends for her beautiful smile and her loving and compassionate personality. Although she will be greatly missed, she will never be forgotten due to the impact she has had on so many. She had great faith and knew she was not saying goodbye, but rather “I’ll see you later.” Though, until then, we will all miss her dearly.

The family would like to thank everyone for the well wishes and prayers. They have been felt throughout this difficult process. Dallas was very clear that she did not want a funeral or to be mourned. She wanted all to come together to celebrate her life and sing in praise. We invite all those who were impacted by Dallas to attend a Celebration of Life Service on Wednesday, January 15th at 11:00 am at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Niceville, Florida. A reception will follow the service at the church.

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