Ginger Elizabeth Newton, age 49, died in her home on October 15, 2016.

Ginger was born on June 27, 1967 to Daniel and Page Newton. Through her life, Ginger had many struggles. Ginger used hard work and determination to overcome the struggles and accomplish many things. After dropping out of high school, she went back to her education and completed her GED, an Associates and a Bachelors of Arts degree. She had a successful career in the Architectural and Engineering industry.

When Ginger fell ill, she applied the same work ethic and determination to researching and understanding her illness and possible ways to work with her doctors to improve her quality of life. Ginger spent hour upon hour reading medical articles to learn the latest information about the illness and treatment. She often quipped “I should be given an honorary Doctorate degree for my six years of ‘medical school’ learning about Masto.”

Ginger had a small group of very close friends with the same illness. They regularly communicated sharing support, inspiration, knowledge and most importantly humor.

Ginger enjoyed cooking and gardening, being quite accomplished at both. In the last couple of years, Ginger took up a new hobby – adult coloring books. She said “I am a terrible artist but this brings me peace”; she appreciated the Zen-like nature of creating her art.

Ginger is survived by her husband Jeff Odell; her father Dan Newton; and her sister Teri Sunday. She was preceded in death by her mother Paige Newton.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to one of the following charities in memory of Ginger Newton:

The Mastocytosis Society http://www.tmsforacure.org/donate.php

Alzheimer’s Association, Orange County Chapter http://www.alzoc.org/get-involved/donate/tribute-gift/