Frances Mae "Mickey" Newhouse

We regret to inform you of the passing of our beloved mother, Frances Mae (Mickey) Newhouse, on December 9, 2025.

Mickey was born on February 20, 1931, in Chicago, Illinois, to Reka Kadyk and Robert Paul McGovern along with her sister, Jeanne McGovern. Their father passed away when Mickey was very young. Jeanne and Mickey grew up with their mom and relatives who raised them in Chicago and Fulton, Illinois. After completing high school, Mickey attended the University of Illinois, where she earned a bachelors degree in Physical Education. She began her professional journey as a PE teacher in Ottawa, Illinois. During this time, she met James Henderson Smith, a librarian and English teacher. They married in 1953 and were blessed with four children: Jennifer, Jeffrey (deceased), Catherine, and Cynthia. The family resided in Highland Park, Illinois, until 1966, when their travels began.

The Smith family moved from Highland Park to American Samoa and then Boone, North Carolina, before settling in Manassas, Virginia, in 1969. There, Mickey continued her career as a PE teacher. She earned her Masters in Education at Virginia Tech in 1977. In her spare time, Mickey had always enjoyed restoring antiques and developed an expertise. When she retired from teaching in 1981, she founded the Furniture Clinic, where she ran a business repairing and restoring furniture. Additionally, she restored and sold antiques at Dovetail Antiques in Manassas until Jim’s passing in 1999. Mickey then worked for Laws Auction where she researched and established values for antiques to be auctioned.

After living in Vienna for four years, Mickey dated Bill Newhouse and they married in 2006. They lived in the Boston area and Florida until finally settling in Florida before Bill’s passing in 2016. Mickey relocated in 2018 to live with Cathy and Bill in Vienna, Virginia, where she lived until her death. Mickey was active in the Stroke Comeback Center, Insight Memory Care Center and water aerobics for years until her passing.

Mickey was predeceased by her parents, Robert Paul McGovern and Reka McGovern, her son Jeffrey Smith, her husbands, James Smith and Bill Newhouse, and her sister, Jeanne Fonner. She is survived by her daughters, Jennifer Smith, Catherine (Bill) Horan, and Cynthia (Scott) Lehman; her grandchildren, Jeffrey Horan (Allison), Will Horan, Chris Goudy, Alex Goudy, James Lehman, and April Lehman; and her two great-grandchildren, Shepherd and Harrison Horan.

A service celebrating Mickey’s life will be held at Money and King Funeral Home on January 17, 2026. A reception will begin at 3:00 PM, followed by the service at 4:00 PM. An Open House will be hosted at the Horans following the service.