Nell Beth Newsom King

Nell B. Newsom King

Private graveside services for Nell Beth Newsom King, 95 of Kilgore will be held on Saturday, January 21, 2023, at Kilgore City Cemetery. Nell passed away peacefully on January 16, 2023, at her home in Kilgore surrounded by family.

Nell was born on December 8, 1927, in Purley, Texas to the late Thomas Arch Newsom, Sr. and Elizabeth Elvira Hildreth. She graduated from Mount Vernon High School and attended East Texas State University in Commerce, Texas. One day when she was just a young girl, she was riding through the Franklin County piney woods on horseback and met a young man named Tom King. Tom took one look at Nell and knew she was the one for him. After dating throughout high school, they married during their first year at East Texas State. They were married for seventy years and shared four children together. After marrying into a pioneer East Texas Oil and Cotton family, she became a trusted keeper of deeds, financial records, leases, and day to day schedules. Her children and grandchildren remember her often-repeated response when they asked her what she had been doing that day, and her reply was, “I have had my head in these books all day.” While Nell’s primary role was that of a devoted wife and mother to the four children, she was an astute business woman who owned and managed many real estate properties and investments of her own. Nell and Tom traveled extensively throughout their marriage, and they especially enjoyed extended trips to all parts of Alaska and Canada. She was highly accomplished at both fresh water and saltwater fishing and earned the honor of Master Angler. She fished from the Bering Sea to the Yukon River, and up to the Arctic’s edge. They also enjoyed spending time in Hawaii, and she loved going to “The Boats” in Shreveport. But Nell’s favorite place to be was at one of their ranches in Franklin and Red River County.

She was a devoted Christian and a long-term member of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church. Mrs. King was a beloved member of her family and community, and she will be greatly missed by all who had the pleasure of knowing her.

Left to cherish her memory are her daughters, Martha Mercer (David) of Minden, Louisiana, and Mary Ann Hounsel (Ronny) of Atlanta, sons, John Asbury “Berry” King (Sydney) of Longview, and Tom A. King, Jr. (Debbie) of Garland, brother-in-law Solon King, Jr., (Pam) of Clarksville, nine grandchildren, twenty-one great-grandchildren, along with numerous nieces, nephews, and other loving family members.

Nell was reunited with her husband of 70 years Tom Alexander King, Sr., father Thomas Arch Newsom, Sr., and mother Elizabeth Elvira Hildreth Newsom.

In lieu of flowers the King family requests memorials be made to Christus Good Shepherd Foundation at 700 E. Marshall Ave. Longview, TX, 75601 or at https://www.christushealth.org/connect/donate/good-shepherd/donate or the Alzheimer’s Association at 225 N. Michigan Ave., Fl. 17, Chicago, IL 60601 or at https://act.alz.org/site/Donation2?df_id=51079&51079.donation=form1&mfc_pref=T&utm_source=google&utm_medium=paidsearch&utm_campaign=giving_google_SL&gclid=Cj0KCQiAq5meBhCyARIsAJrtdr6gJ_i_xeHfQBJ7pf40sqqUlEQB6HV4foRayhLLUlAzFeqDtiyA4TAaAuzyEALw_wcB

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