January 31, 2008 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

Morjorie Newlin, well-known Mt. Airy senior bodybuilder, dies
by Jennifer Katz

Morjorie Newlin

Morjorie Newlin, 87, a nationally celebrated senior bodybuilder, died Dec. 27 at Chestnut Hill Hospital from complications of acute leukemia.

Mrs. Newlin received national recognition for her success in the field of bodybuilding in her 70s and 80s, winning more than 40 trophies over a span of 15 years.

She began weight training in 1991 at Rivers Gym in Germantown at the age of 72.

“I had been working out at the YMCA in Germantown,” Mrs. Newlin said in a 2006 interview. “I was doing whatever exercise I could do with the equipment they had there.

“I was looking for a place where I could learn how to use the weights properly. I didn’t know what I was doing, I just knew I wanted to pick up those weights.”

She won her first trophy in 1992, placing first in the Mid-Atlantic USA competition and winning two other top spots that same year. She went on to make the top three in competitions across the United States, including winning third place in the masters’ category of the World Physique Federation’s International competition, which took place at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Center City in 2004, drawing contestants from 130 countries.

Her success as an octogenarian bodybuilding champion earned her local and national recognition from the Philadelphia press to the Oprah Winfrey and Today shows. She also was a highly requested guest speaker throughout the country.

Born in North Philadelphia in 1921, Mrs. Newlin was the daughter of Maqueritta and Arthur Greenidge, immigrants from Barbados. She graduated from Temple University High School and earned an R.N. from Howard University and a bachelors’ degree in healthcare administration from St. Joseph’s University in Maine.

Mrs. Newlin married the late Raymond E. Newlin, a railroad worker, in 1946 and moved to Mt. Airy in 1959.

Mrs. Newlin is survived by a son, Augustus Greenidge; three daughters, Virginia Lee, Antonia Citizen and Michelle Newlin; four grandchildren, and two great grandchildren.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 2, at Holy Cross Church, 154 E. Mt. Airy Ave. Interment will be at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.