Obituary for Jeanne Theresa Newlin
Jeanne Theresa Newlin, 82, died unexpectedly in Bellefonte of cardiac arrest on December 16, 2021. She was born in Longview, Washington, to the late Vincent Newlin and Henrietta Bross Newlin. She was the first child of ten, growing up in the Oregon countryside of SW Portland with five brothers and four sisters.
She graduated from St. Mary’s Academy, an all-girls high school in downtown Portland, in 1956 - at the age of 17. Following high school Jeanne received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Marylhurst College, a private women’s liberal arts college south of Portland, in 1959.
After brief service in the Women’s Army Corps in 1959, Jeanne traveled east to attend Villanova University in Pennsylvania. She received a teaching assistantship and earned her Master of Arts degree in Comparative Literature. This sojourn carried Jeanne to a part of the country that, as she was soon to learn, was rich in her family’s heritage and where she felt at home for the rest of her life. She discovered that she and her family are the direct descendants of the first Newlin in America. Quakers, who migrated from Ireland in 1683 seeking religious and economic opportunities, prospered by developing land purchased from William Penn. Her 7th great-grandfather, Nathaniel, built the Newlin Grist Mill in Brandywine Valley in 1704, which operates today as a thriving historical preservation site.
Jeanne lived in New York City for the next several years, where she began teaching in the English Department of St. John’s College. She worked and did graduate studies at the City University of New York, resulting in a Ph.D. in English Literature in 1971. However, by 1968, Jeanne was working at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA, first as Associate Curator, then Assistant Curator. Then from 1972 to 1995, Dr. Newlin was the Curator of the Harvard Theatre Collection.
During this time she developed her deep-seated passion and expertise in the art of preservation. Her love and devotion to every aspect of the performing arts nurtured her during the intense responsibility she felt toward world-renowned collections of materials and research and the need to open new avenues of acquisition and access. From 1977-1995, Dr. Newlin was also a senior lecturer in Harvard’s Department of Comparative Literature, teaching theatre research and history as well as the history of Shakespeare on stage. She collaborated with her husband in a number of published works of their shared interest in the role of Shakespeare in the contemporary world. Dr. Newlin was also adjunct professor in the Department of Drama and Dance at Tufts University from 1990-2002.
Jeanne met her future husband Joseph Price while at Villanova, and they were married in Geneva, Switzerland in 1973. Dr. Price was a professor specializing in Shakespeare, Renaissance literature and drama at Penn State University, and they lived between two homes, one in the Boston area and one in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. Together, starting in 1988, they embarked on numerous renovation and preservation projects, including a 3-story Greek Revival townhouse in Charleston, MA, a 3-story Federal house and a 3-story Victorian residence and carriage house in Bellefonte. They received Architectural Board awards on two of the projects.
During the last years of her life, Jeanne lived in Bellefonte where she was active in local preservation efforts. She contributed her invaluable insights and professional expertise to many 501(c)(3) organizations. Jeanne served as Secretary of the Bellefonte Historical and Cultural Association (BHCA), and as a committee member of BHCA’s Old House Fair events. And she was the founding President of the Bellefonte Historic Preservation Foundation (BHPF). Most recently, she was the President Emerita of the BHPF, continuously contributing her time and talent to the organization.
Jeanne’s husband of over 39 years, Joseph Price, died before her in 2012, as did her sister, Mary Newlin, in 2017.
Jeanne is survived by eight siblings - Thomas Newlin, Richard Newlin, Eve Boyer, Vince Newlin, Mike Newlin, Kathy Koch, Teresa Newlin and Patrick Newlin - and their spouses and ten nieces and nephews. She is also survived by three step-children - Paul Price, Ann Price and Jane Price - and four step-grandchildren.
Funeral services and burial will be private at the convenience of the family. Arrangements are under the direction of Wetzler Funeral Service, Inc. in Bellefonte.
To honor Jeanne’s memory, the family would appreciate that donations be made to the organization she helped found, the Bellefonte Historic Preservation Foundation, at its website bellefontehpf.org. Donations can also be mailed to Bellefonte Historic Preservation Foundation, P.O. Box 307, Bellefonte, PA 16823-0307.
Online condolences may be made to the family at www.wetzlerfuneralhome.com.
She graduated from St. Mary’s Academy, an all-girls high school in downtown Portland, in 1956 - at the age of 17. Following high school Jeanne received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Marylhurst College, a private women’s liberal arts college south of Portland, in 1959.
After brief service in the Women’s Army Corps in 1959, Jeanne traveled east to attend Villanova University in Pennsylvania. She received a teaching assistantship and earned her Master of Arts degree in Comparative Literature. This sojourn carried Jeanne to a part of the country that, as she was soon to learn, was rich in her family’s heritage and where she felt at home for the rest of her life. She discovered that she and her family are the direct descendants of the first Newlin in America. Quakers, who migrated from Ireland in 1683 seeking religious and economic opportunities, prospered by developing land purchased from William Penn. Her 7th great-grandfather, Nathaniel, built the Newlin Grist Mill in Brandywine Valley in 1704, which operates today as a thriving historical preservation site.
Jeanne lived in New York City for the next several years, where she began teaching in the English Department of St. John’s College. She worked and did graduate studies at the City University of New York, resulting in a Ph.D. in English Literature in 1971. However, by 1968, Jeanne was working at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA, first as Associate Curator, then Assistant Curator. Then from 1972 to 1995, Dr. Newlin was the Curator of the Harvard Theatre Collection.
During this time she developed her deep-seated passion and expertise in the art of preservation. Her love and devotion to every aspect of the performing arts nurtured her during the intense responsibility she felt toward world-renowned collections of materials and research and the need to open new avenues of acquisition and access. From 1977-1995, Dr. Newlin was also a senior lecturer in Harvard’s Department of Comparative Literature, teaching theatre research and history as well as the history of Shakespeare on stage. She collaborated with her husband in a number of published works of their shared interest in the role of Shakespeare in the contemporary world. Dr. Newlin was also adjunct professor in the Department of Drama and Dance at Tufts University from 1990-2002.
Jeanne met her future husband Joseph Price while at Villanova, and they were married in Geneva, Switzerland in 1973. Dr. Price was a professor specializing in Shakespeare, Renaissance literature and drama at Penn State University, and they lived between two homes, one in the Boston area and one in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. Together, starting in 1988, they embarked on numerous renovation and preservation projects, including a 3-story Greek Revival townhouse in Charleston, MA, a 3-story Federal house and a 3-story Victorian residence and carriage house in Bellefonte. They received Architectural Board awards on two of the projects.
During the last years of her life, Jeanne lived in Bellefonte where she was active in local preservation efforts. She contributed her invaluable insights and professional expertise to many 501(c)(3) organizations. Jeanne served as Secretary of the Bellefonte Historical and Cultural Association (BHCA), and as a committee member of BHCA’s Old House Fair events. And she was the founding President of the Bellefonte Historic Preservation Foundation (BHPF). Most recently, she was the President Emerita of the BHPF, continuously contributing her time and talent to the organization.
Jeanne’s husband of over 39 years, Joseph Price, died before her in 2012, as did her sister, Mary Newlin, in 2017.
Jeanne is survived by eight siblings - Thomas Newlin, Richard Newlin, Eve Boyer, Vince Newlin, Mike Newlin, Kathy Koch, Teresa Newlin and Patrick Newlin - and their spouses and ten nieces and nephews. She is also survived by three step-children - Paul Price, Ann Price and Jane Price - and four step-grandchildren.
Funeral services and burial will be private at the convenience of the family. Arrangements are under the direction of Wetzler Funeral Service, Inc. in Bellefonte.
To honor Jeanne’s memory, the family would appreciate that donations be made to the organization she helped found, the Bellefonte Historic Preservation Foundation, at its website bellefontehpf.org. Donations can also be mailed to Bellefonte Historic Preservation Foundation, P.O. Box 307, Bellefonte, PA 16823-0307.
Online condolences may be made to the family at www.wetzlerfuneralhome.com.