Frances S. Newton, 71, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, Oct. 23, 1998, at St. Francis Medical Center.

She was born March 20, 1927, in Portsmouth, Ohio, daughter of Karl W. and Willa H. Hazlett Seiling. She and Ralph R. Newton Jr. were married June 12, 1948, in Houston, Texas. He died Oct. 13, 1988.

Newton received a bachelor of science degree in music education from Texas State University for Women at Denton in 1948. She lived in Houston many years, moving to Cape Girardeau in 1981. She was a member of St. Mark Lutheran Church.

Survivors include two sons, Ralph Newton III and William Newton of Houston, and an aunt who had cared for her a number of years, Virginia Zimmer of Cape Girardeau.

Funeral will be at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at Ford and Sons Mt. Auburn Chapel. The Rev. Robert Klein will officiate, with burial in Lorimier Cemetery.

Friends may call Sunday at the funeral home from noon to service time.