John Putnam Thorp Jr

1941 - 2025

John Putnam Thorp, Jr., 84, of Ludington, passed away on November 10, 2025.

John was born on March 28, 1941, and grew up in the Irish Catholic culture of Southside Chicago. In 1955, he entered the high school seminary at the University of Notre Dame. He was ordained a Holy Cross priest in 1968 and was assigned to teach at Notre Dame College in Dacca, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and minister to the Sisters of Holy Cross working in their college and orphanage. On his return from Bangladesh in 1972 to study at the University of Chicago, he met Judith Ann Hoxie in the cornfields of DeKalb, IL, and his life took a new direction. For the next 42 years, they walked through life together until Judy's death in 2014.

John received his Ph.D. in cultural anthropology from the University of Chicago in June of 1978 for his investigation of the Muslim farmers of Bangladesh. He was hired that same year to teach at the University of Notre Dame and in 1979 began teaching at Saint Mary's College. During this period, he was able to do research about multinational agribusiness in the Philippines, pharmaceutical use in Kenya, and the training of family practice doctors at South Bend's Memorial Hospital. During their eleven years in South Bend, IN, John and Judy adopted their three daughters: Megna and Anjali (Juju) from Bangladesh, and Jayana (Ana) from Hyderabad, India. Jayana later granted him with three beautiful grandchildren: Thomas, Lucy, and Gabrielle.

John became the Social Sciences Department Head at Ferris State University in 1989 and remained there until his retirement in 2008. From 1992 until he retired, he worked with E. David Pilgrim to create the Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia. Starting in 2006, he was the mainstay in the support system that assisted Judy to successfully overcome breast cancer.

In 2009, he and Judy moved to Ludington where they remodeled the home on Hamlin Lake, originally purchased by her grandfather. John served for six years on the Board of Directors of the Mason County Historical Society and was deeply involved in the development of the Port of Ludington Maritime Museum. He sang with the West Shore Community College concert choir and was a member of the 16th Century Singers.

In 2015, he partnered with Lynda Fox Blankinship in making the world a better place for their families, friends, and community.

John's life will be celebrated on Tuesday, November 18, 2025, at 11:00 AM at Grace Funeral Home, with visitation beginning at 10:00 AM.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Jim Crow Museum in Big Rapids.

Arrangements were entrusted to Grace Funeral Home and Cremation Services. www.GraceCrematons.com