Julia Newman

Julia Newman of Red Wing, MN passed away the morning of May 31, 2026, at the age of 85. She was born on December 15, 1940, to Ernest and Mary Creutz in Denver, Colorado. She was the youngest of five children (William, MaryJane, Patricia, Earnest Jr, and Julia) and was especially loved and spoiled by her older sister Pat. Julia always loved Denver and the dear childhood friends that she made while living there. When she was entering high school, she and her parents moved to Doniphan, Missouri where she excelled in school and even learned to play the accordion.

After graduation she decided to attend Blackburn College where she soon fell in love with the handsome Kitchen Crew Head, Dennis Newman where she was assigned to breakfast kitchen cleanup crew as her work/study job. They married on June 10, 1962, at the Student Union the day after Dennis graduated. They moved to Wheeling, Illinois and a year later she was expecting Linda, and two years after that Kathy. Julia returned to college when her girls were young and after years of hard work completed a bachelor’s and master’s degree in education. She spent her career teaching 6th grade and then Jr. High Science.

Julie was creative, always up for trying new things and an early adopter of technology. Over the years she had many hobbies including jewelry making, stained glass, crocheting, woodworking, and carving, but her favorite hobby was travel. When her girls were young she and Den would pack up their 1972 VW camper for the summer to camp across to the West Coast one summer and the East Coast the next.

In 1975 Julia and Dennis built the house of their dreams on Barnum Lake near Hackensack, MN. When I say they built it…I mean they built it themselves with a retired carpenter and a long summer of hard work. By the end of the summer the roof was on and the shell complete. Each school year after that they would save all they could and spend the next summer completing the next part on the house. Everyone was really excited the summer they got indoor plumbing! By 1993 when they retired and moved up to Hackensack full time the house was done. Julie was the lake’s self-appointed welcome committee. She loved riding around on her moped visiting with anyone she ran across along the way.

In retirement Julia, with Den in tow, traveled with Elderhostel and Grand Circle groups to visit many countries including China, Egypt, Costa Rica, Turkey, the Fjords of Norway, and then later with the grandkids to Australia, Germany, Ireland, and South Africa. She loved taking thousands of pictures and using them to create very long and detailed slide shows.

Throughout their married life, Den and Julie had a succession of Lhasa Apsos or Shih Tzus (Pookie, Coco, and Molly) and when Molly was gone, Julie shared her love for dogs with those in her neighborhood. She would sit outside her garage for hours waiting for them to walk past with their owners so that she could pet them and feed them treats.

Julie was the most creative and generous person you would ever meet. Nothing made her happier than creating something for someone else or gifting them something she had. This love may only have been surpassed by her love of chocolate…chocolate chip cookies, Blizzards, chocolate malts, Milk Duds, chocolate covered almonds, you name it…If you wanted to treat Julie, chocolate was the answer.

She also loved her family and friends. A phone call, a visit, an email or text, that was her love language. When someone took the time to reach out to her it always filled her heart.

Julie will not be here on earth for her 64th anniversary on June 10th but the love she and Dennis shared will live forever.