Mary Alice Northrup

1933 - 2025

Mary Alice Northrup, 90

Mary Alice Hedwig Northrup, 90 years of Rathdrum, Idaho, passed away Friday, April 5, 2024 at Generations Assisted Living and Wellness. Mary was born in Three Rivers, Texas on October 17, 1933, the daughter of the late Max A. and Erna (Maass) Barsch and youngest child of five, all of whom predeceased Mary (Herbert Charles, Esther Levy, Maxine Mueller, and Eugene Harvey). Mary graduated from Durham's Business College in her Senior year of high school. She worked in different organizations as a clerk, bookkeeper, and secretary. She met and married Ray Paul in San Antonio in September, 1956. They moved to Alburquerque, New Mexico in 1957 for Ray's work. She had her first two children (Kathlynn and Cynthia) there. In 1960, the family moved to Lompoc, California where Mary worked at Vandenberg Air Force Base. Another move to Sacramento where Mark was born. In 1964 Ray and Mary divorced.

Mary proved how determined and strong a mother could be when raising three children alone. She worked at the jobs available to females in the 60's with the associated low pay. She worked four years with the State of California department of Warter Resources in Palmdale. She gained skills at a radio operator and draftsman.

Mary had a supportive friend network and good neighbors who could watch the three kids while she worked. Mary was a savvy saver and frequently made a week's worth of meals for the family from one chicken. While living in and working in Lancaster, Mary met & then married Jimmie Northrup in June 1967. Together they had a fourth child (Jerrie). The family moved to Petaluma, California around 1970 where she stayed home. At the end of 1972, the family moved to St. Maries, Idaho. Mary opened and ran Busy Bee pre-school out of the house for five years in addition to a job with the Forest Service. Mary and Jimmie's union lasted until their divorce in 1991.

Mary did a variety of work in her life which included drafting maps for the Forest Service, being trained on computer systems early on when they became available for government workers, managed contracts, and provided transportation for the Fire crews all over the St. Maries Region. She also trained as an Advanced Emergency Medical Technician and was called out at all hours to provide health support at accidents and to transport folks to the regional hospitals. She moved to Coeur d' Alene, Idaho and later retired from Forest Service around 1994. She then worked in Real Estate with Century 21. She moved to Dallas, Oregon a few years later and lived there until she moved to Rathdrum, Idaho to enter Generations for the last 2 years.

Mary was smart and continued to update her computer skills, volunteered as a tax preparer. She was also creative and dabbled in painting, playing the piano, gardening, canning, crocheting, and sewing. She loved to read and loved her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Mary is survived by four children: Kathlynn (Tony) Northrup-Snyder of Ashland, Oregon; Cynthia Northrup (Mark) of Bella Vista, Arkansas; Mark Northrup; and Jerrie (Finessa) Northrup of Spirit Lake, Idaho. She was also blessed with grandchildren: Allycia Adams, Larra Snyder, Dustin Moses, Thomas Northrup, Chelsea Northrup; and great-grandchildren: Keira, Kaleb, and Sophia Adams. Mary is buried in the Evergreen Cemetery, Post Falls, ID.

A memorial Service will be held at the Evergreen Cemetery (2834 N. Spokane St. Post Falls, Idaho 83854), at 2:30PM on Sunday, May 18, 2025. Condolences may be sent to the family or memories may be shared on Mary's Tribute Wall at www.yatesfuneralhome.com. A memorial slide show can be viewed here as well. Donations can be shared with the local ASPCA (ASPCA.org" target="_new" rel="nofollow">ASPCA.org).