The beautiful and sweet life of Hilda Kaye Mitchell Newborn peacefully came to a close on Sunday, December 21, 2026, at her home. She was 83 years old.

Hilda Kaye Mitchell Newborn was born on August 13, 1942, in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, to the union of Carsno Mitchell and Helen Marie Hildreth Mitchell. She loved the Lord with all her heart, accepted Christ at an early age, and remained a lifelong and faithful member of St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church.

She received her early education in Arkadelphia and was a 1960 graduate of Peake High School. During her years at Peake, she formed lifelong friendships and proudly played the cornet in the school band for six years.

Following graduation and with aspirations of becoming an educator, she attended Arkansas AM&N College —now the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff—where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education.

She later married Jesse Paul Newburn, and together they established a loving and beautiful life in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. Affectionately known as “Kaye,” she dedicated her professional life to educating and nurturing children. Her teaching career included service in Jonesboro, Arkansas; Newport, Arkansas; and Malvern, Arkansas, before retiring.

Kaye had an infinite love for children and was a constant source of comfort, care, and guidance to children of all ages. She worked for several years at Hours of Joy Daycare Center in Arkadelphia, where she helped nurture, babysit, guide, and teach many young children. She also served with the Area Agency on Aging in Arkadelphia.

She was fun-loving, and had a gentle soul. In her spare time, she enjoyed crossword puzzles and word-search books, and spent countless hours watching The Andy Griffith Show, Gunsmoke, and her favorite television program, Wheel of Fortune. Though she did not play sports, she was an enthusiastic sports fan and loved watching all sporting events.

She was preceded in death by her grandparents, Jack S. and Mary Elizabeth Hildreth and Lonnie and Lizzie Mitchell; her parents, Carsno Mitchell and Helen Marie Hildreth Mitchell; and her husband, Jesse Paul Newborn.

She was the proud mother of Kevin Hildreth Mitchell of Arkadelphia; grandmother of Kevin J. Mitchell, Torrence L. Daniel, and Trevon M. Daniel; and great-grandmother to twelve beautiful great-grandchildren. She leaves to cherish her memory one beloved sister, Carla E. Mitchell of Los Angeles, California; one brother, Carsno “Nick” Mitchell and his wife Sandra of Little Rock, Arkansas; her dear cousin-sister, Sharon “Spook” Taylor, with whom she shared a bond like “two peas in a pod”; her cherished cousin-nephew Duane “Ditto” Taylor of Arkadelphia; and close friends and classmates who live out of state, including Patricia Duncan Ross of Oakland, California, Mary Jean Reed Tate of Chicago, Illinois, and special close friends Betty Nelson, Estella Forte, and Millie Fort.

Visitation will be Friday, January 2, 2026 from 10:00 a.m. until 10:50 a.m. at St. Paul AME Church. The family will celebrate the life of Kaye on Friday, January 2, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. at St. Paul AME Church, with Rev. Terrence Mays, Jr., officiating and Rev. Donnie Tank, eulogist. Interment will follow at the New Jerusalem Cemetery in Louann, Arkansas.

Pallbearers will be Ollie Buckley, Darrell Middleton, Audrey Hill, Fred Middleton, Rickey Craig, and Cleo Hunter.