Mary Lou Northrop

Mary Lou Northrop, beautiful loving wife, mother and grandmother, passed away November 25, 2017 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Mary Lou was originally from Lexington, Ky. where she attended Lafayette High School.  She has lived in the Jacksonville area since 1987, after moving here from Winston Salem N.C.

Mary Lou attended Duke University in Durham, N.C. from 1949 to 1953. While at Duke, She was a member of Delta Delta Delta sorority and served as President of Jarvis House. During her junior year at Duke, she served as a Commencement Marshall. It was also during this service that she met Sam Northrop, a handsome junior at Duke and fellow Commencement Marshall. Sam would eventually become her husband for 64 years.

After her marriage to Sam, the couple lived in Newport, R.I. before moving to Norfolk, VA. During Sam’s service in the Navy. After leaving Norfolk, they spent most of their time living in North Carolina, transferring between Raleigh, “little” Washington, and Winston Salem. It was in 1987 that they made their move to the Jacksonville area to Deerwood and eventually settled in Ponte Vedra Beach at Vicar’s Landing in 2013. An Episcopalian for many years, Mary Lou and Sam remain very active members of Christ Episcopal Church.

Mary Lou is survived by her loving husband of 64 years, Sam; daughters, Patricia (Kevin), Susan, and Catherine; son, Samuel Northrop III (Cathy); grandchildren, Harriss, Jason, Andrew, Parker, Jaye, Stacey, Matthew, Sandy, Christopher, Spencer, Benjamin, Abby, and Ellie.  She was predeceased by her brothers, Donald, Gene, John, and Carroll; parents, Carroll and Meta Jacobs.

A Memorial Service will be held at 11:00 am, Monday, December 18, 2017, at Christ Episcopal Church. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to these three organizations: Christ Church Foundation, Vicar’s Members Trust, or Community Hospice.