Ann E. Northrup Passes
Lowell, MA- Ann Elizabeth (Fuller) Northrup, 65, who taught English to two generations of immigrants at Lowell High School before her retirement last year, died at her home Friday morning, after a lengthy battle with endometrial cancer. At the end, she was surrounded by the family that she adored.
Mrs. Northrup taught at Lowell High School for more than 25 years prior to her retirement in 2012, nearly all of those years in the English as a Second Language (later English Language Learners) department. She also taught for four years at the then-Greater Lowell Regional Vocational Technical High School.
She was the daughter of Barbara (Schulte) Fuller, of Tyngsborough and Gulfport FL, who survives her, and the late Bowers Fuller, and the sister of the late Gregory R. Fuller. She was also the great-great-granddaughter of Jonathan Bowers, the designer, and builder of the Bowers Castle on Wannalancit Street, sometimes known as the Round House.
She was, for nearly 43 years, the wife of Jeffrey A. Northrup of Lowell, who survives her, and was the mother of three sons, Atty. Kenneth A. Northrup, of Grafton, a partner in the firm of Winsor and Northrup in Westborough; William P. Northrup of South Boston, a teacher of the English Language Arts at Lowell High School; and Dr. Alan B. Northrup, of Reading, Head of Exploratory Chemistry, at Merck’s Boston research facility. She is also survived by two daughters-in-law, April R. Northrup of Reading and Lisa Northrup of South Boston, and five grandchildren, Andrew, Abigail, and Ava Northrup of Reading, and Rowan and Emily Northrup of South Boston.
Mrs. Northrup was particularly proud of her descent from numerous Pilgrims who came to America on the Mayflower in 1620, including William Brewster, John Alden, and Myles Standish. She and her husband discovered more than three decades after their marriage that they were distant cousins—being descended from both Francis Cooke and Richard Warren, two Mayflower passengers. Mrs. Northrup was a more than 40-year member of the Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants and was co-editor—with her husband—of The Compact, the newsletter of the Society. At the time of her death, she was actively engaged in tracing more of her ancestors back to the Mayflower and to England. Among others, she was descended from Eleanor of Aquitaine, the mother of King Richard the Lionhearted, through his brother Prince John; King Alfred, one of the early kings of the Britons; and the great French king, Charlemagne. She was a member of the New England Historic Genealogical Society.
She was also a longtime member of the Dracut Garden Club, which she served in recent years as Publicity Chairman and Ways and Means Chairman, as well as the founding editor of the Sunflower Times, the Club’s newsletter.
Mrs. Northrup was a graduate of Lowell High School, Lowell State College, where she earned a B.A. in English Literature, and the University of Lowell, where she earned an M.Ed. in teaching English as a Second Language. During her teaching career, she presented at many conferences on innovative methodology in second language instruction and the instruction of gifted and talented students.
During the 1970s, she also served as a volunteer counselor for Rape Crisis Services of Greater Lowell, aiding numerous victims.
As a young woman, she was a member of Lowell Assembly No. 42 of the Order of the Rainbow for Girls, which she served as Worthy Advisor. She was honored with the Grand Cross of Color, the organization’s highest award.