Lowell Brian Northrup

Lowell Brian Northrup, 67, passed away July 11, 2024, in Red Wing, MN after a short illness.

Lowell was born in Winona, MN and grew up in Decorah, IA. In the summer of 1971, Lowell’s family moved to New Hampton, Iowa where Lowell graduated with the Class of 1978. They then moved to Hastings, MN in 1984.

A recent visit with a New Hampton Sophomore Teammate credited Lowell with a pregame pep talk that fired the Team up to defeat Decorah (Lowell’s former Teammates). It was the first win that class had against Decorah. They were 0-3 until that Sophomore game.

Lowell’s other school sport was Pole Vaulting which he excelled at, especially when he could borrow a pole at track meets that suited his size and aggressive approach. When it became clear NHHS couldn’t buy a pole, he was going to permanently borrow the perfect pole he had used at a meet. He had it on the bus and informed the coach the pole problem was taken care of. Of course, the coach told him he had to return it. Lowell also performed stunts off the top rail of the football stands into the pole vault pit sitting next to it.

Lowell loved skydiving. He made his first parachute jump on September 9, 1971, a little more than a month before he turned 15. During his high school years, he was known to hang around the New Hampton Airport and ask random pilots when they were getting ready to fly out if he could ride in their plane and jump out. Many said yes! He made his last solo skydive, #270, on June 25, 1974, shortly before he was injured riding his motorcycle up to a lake in Minnesota to meet up with friends. With the introduction of Tandem Skydiving in the mid 80’s, Lowell was able to return to the sky on July 14th, 1985. Throughout the years, he was able to add 24 more jumps to his Logbook, several of which were with his brother, Brad. His final jump, #294, was made on April 17, 2004, in Williston, FL.

As a young teen, Lowell was known to get up in the middle of the night and consume whole cans of cherry pie filling. From early adolescence Lowell liked girls (A Lot). After his accident he took every shot he could flirting. This continued almost to the end. In Hospice after getting a sponge bath, he signaled for the Hospice Aide to come closer, he put his arm around her neck as she leaned down and told her “I Love You.”

Lowell is survived by his brother, Brad (Maureen) Northrup; nephew, Nathan (Heather) Northrup; niece, Cindy (Joe) Baron; great-nephew, Jack Northrup; great-nieces, Hanna Baron, Haley Baron and Ella Northrup; aunts, Helen, Romey, Janice, Maxine and Marie; and by many cousins. A special thank you to cousins, Lisa and Brian for visiting Lowell.

He is preceded by his parents, Lyle and Emogene Northrup; and brother, Dennis Northrup.

Brad and Maureen would like to thank those that remembered Lowell with cards and phone calls. A special thank you to New Hampton High School classmates, Jane Hinton for her monthly cards and puzzles, and Tom Ryan, Bob Beckman, Dennis Haugen, Mike Babcock and Tom Utley for visiting Lowell.