Ms. Maureen Leah 'Beany" Newton, RN, of Elkhart, passed away unexpectedly while recovering from routine surgery on Wednesday, July 19, 2023 at 9:32 am. She was born in South Bend on September 11, 1957 to the late Elwood and Evelyn (Stickel) Keating.

Surviving are her children, Jennifer (Brent Aspy) Rodela of Elkhart,  Andrew "AJ" (Jillian) Newton of Granger, and Jessica (Lee) Waggoner of Nabb; her brother, Larry Keating of Bremen; sister, Sandra Murray of Nashville; grandchildren, Christian, Evelyn, Kaleb, Elizabeth, Matthew and Nathaniel; her niece, Dawn Baxter of Bremen; and her pal and official "BFF", Peggy Kelley. "Nurse Mo" is also survived by a host of loving extended family and medical professional colleagues. Preceding her in death is a brother, John Baxter.

Billings Funeral Home and Cremation Services in Elkhart will host Maureen's homegoing celebration on Tuesday, July 25, 2023 at 12:00 noon, with a visitation beginning at 10:00. Chaplain Jeremy Sarber from Billings will officiate the services and burial will follow at Olive West Cemetery in Jimtown. An RN Honor Guard ceremony will lead off the services at noon.

Nurse Mo had worked in the medical profession nearly all her life and was serving actively as a Registered Nurse working in billing, decoding and medical auditing. However, her real passion was her family, and she enjoyed spending time with the kids and grandkids whenever she could. Needless to say, the feeling was mutual because Mom cooked like no one's business and it was always a stampede to the dinner table whenever Mom had her personal spaghetti recipe, or her stuffed peppers or homemade cheesecake served up for dinner.

Maureen was also a fantastic artist and loved to paint in oil and do charcoal sketches. Much of her work still adorns her home, with her favorite subjects being lighthouses and seascapes. Her artwork was her Zen, and she used her time in front of the canvas to melt away her daily stress. She always considered herself a good, Christian lady with homespun conservative values and tried her best to always represent what she stood for in the best light possible. She had a seriously developed sense of humor, enjoyed knitting and going fishing, dabbled a bit in gardening (she loved lilacs and tulips) and liked to curl up to a good John Grisham book.

Finally, it should be noted that Maureen was fascinated with the Mob and organized crime and was a huge fan of gangster movies and documentaries. Her family would joke that she was perhaps too fascinated and often wondered why she always kept an excessive amount of concrete mix in the garage. We're pretty sure Lucky and Al would have been proud.

Family and friends are invited to browse Maureen's obit page at the funeral home's website for further information. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the American Cancer Society.

American Cancer Society
PO Box 6704, Hagerstown MD 21741
Tel: 1-800-227-2345
Web: https://www.cancer.org/