Heidi Leigh (nee Werner) Newell was born in the Bloomsburg Hospital in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, to Charles W. Werner and Kathleen A. (nee Hock) Werner (deceased). She died in Williamstown, New Jersey, on 07/17/2023 at the age of 54.

She graduated from Central Columbia High School in 1987. In 1991, she graduated from Bloomsburg University, earning a BA in Sociology (Criminal Justice). After moving to Clemson, South Carolina, she earned an MS in Industrial/Organizational Psychology. A PhD in Educational Leadership (Higher Education Administration) from the University of North Dakota completed her educational degrees. Newell served as a consultant at Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ, in various positions since 1998. Notably, she worked as the Assessment and Accreditation Consultant for the College of Engineering.

On Heidi's first day in Clemson, SC, she met Jim and the two were married exactly three years later to the date. A year later they moved to Minnesota to be near the University of North Dakota for Jim's first professor position and for Heidi to finish her PhD. In 1998, they moved to New Jersey and welcomed a daughter, Jessica, in 2000.

Volunteering was a passion for Heidi, and she was able to serve on the PTO for Jessica's schools, known as the Book Fair Queen. Working with animals was also important to her and she volunteered at a local farm and for an animal sanctuary organization, as well as being Mom to many pets.

She had many hobbies, such as genealogy, even working on the 2010 Census as a way to give back to a source of many valuable records. Heidi would often be found reading and was a happy member of two book clubs over the years. She very much enjoyed moderate exercise and keeping statistics. Ocean City, NJ, has long been her happy place and she looked forward to spending a week there every summer with Jessica. Some of her most pleasant summers as a child were spent at camps working with persons with disabilities (Camp Daddy Allen in the Poconos and Camp F.U.T.U.R.E. in Columbia County, PA).

In addition to her father, Heidi is survived by her husband, Dr. James A. Newell, of Williamstown, NJ, and her daughter, Jessica L. Newell, of Washington, D.C.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to your favorite charitable organization in her name.  Plans for celebration of life will be forthcoming.