Obituary for Marjorie (Dyer Wallace) Northrop
Marjorie J. (Dyer, Wallace) Northrop, 85, died peacefully at The Life Care Center of Acton, MA, Feb. 6, 2021, after a short illness. She had lived courageously with Parkinson’s Disease for the past 7 years. She was born in East Orange, NJ, the youngest daughter of the late Fredrick and Marion (Webber) Dyer. The Dyer family lived on Lake Hopatcong, NJ, during her babyhood and early childhood. She shared many stories of happy times and adventures of life on the lake with her brother and sister. She developed a love of the outdoors as her parents took the family on many camping, fishing and hiking trips in upstate NY, especially The Adirondacks. The family moved to Schenectady, NY, where Marge attended Draper High School, and later met and married her first husband, Bob Wallace.
Marge studied piano and voice at Houghton College, NY, and shared her life-long love of music, art and gardening with her children and extended family. Marge worked as a technical typist for the GE Research Laboratory in Niskayuna, NY. Her 3 children were born in New York, then raised in West Hartford, CT, while she continued to work as a technical typist and personnel representative for the Travelers Research Center, and then the Center for the Environment and Man (CEM), in Hartford, CT. She retired from CEM as Corporate Secretary.
In 1981, Marge married Gaylord M. Northrop, and a few years later they moved to Little Rock, Arkansas, where he was born and raised. While in Little Rock, Marge took pottery classes and volunteered at the Little Rock Arts Center. She and Gaylord made many trips back to New England to visit their adult children as they married and began their own families, and also hosted them at the homestead in Little Rock. After the passing of her husband, Gaylord, Marge moved in 2006 to Broadway, VA and then to Maynard, MA in 2014, both times to be close to her children and their families.
She was predeceased by her sister, Dorothy (Dyer) Conklin of Eva, AL, and brother, F. Richard Dyer, of Hillsdale, NY, her first husband, Robert B. Wallace, of Acton, MA, and husband Gaylord M. Northrop of Little Rock, AR.
She is survived by her sister-in-law, Gita (Becker) Dyer, her children, Elizabeth A. (Wallace) Thomas (Edward), Sandra W. Kunz (Jeff), Jonathan R. Wallace (Maura), and her step-children, Melanie G. Northrop, and Dana R. Northrop (Kristen). She is also survived by 14 grandchildren: Meghan Wallace, Molli Gorrell, Max Jeffers, Nicholas Jeffers, Aaron Thomas, Daniel Thomas, Kathleen Thomas, Lauren Middleton, Rachel Forman, Sarah Forman, Rebecca Forman, E.J. Northrop, Will Northrop, and John Northrop, and 3 great-grandchildren: Natalie Gorrell, Gavin (Thomas) Tucker and Rosa Hoffman Thomas.
Covid- permitting, visiting hours are planned for The Acton Funeral Home, Sunday, May 23 from 1:00-3:00PM. Interment of cremains are Monday, May 24, at Mt. Hope Cemetery, Acton, MA
Those who wish may make donations to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research Grand Central Station P.O. Box 4777 New York, NY, 10163 or to The National Women’s History Museum Washington, DC
Marge studied piano and voice at Houghton College, NY, and shared her life-long love of music, art and gardening with her children and extended family. Marge worked as a technical typist for the GE Research Laboratory in Niskayuna, NY. Her 3 children were born in New York, then raised in West Hartford, CT, while she continued to work as a technical typist and personnel representative for the Travelers Research Center, and then the Center for the Environment and Man (CEM), in Hartford, CT. She retired from CEM as Corporate Secretary.
In 1981, Marge married Gaylord M. Northrop, and a few years later they moved to Little Rock, Arkansas, where he was born and raised. While in Little Rock, Marge took pottery classes and volunteered at the Little Rock Arts Center. She and Gaylord made many trips back to New England to visit their adult children as they married and began their own families, and also hosted them at the homestead in Little Rock. After the passing of her husband, Gaylord, Marge moved in 2006 to Broadway, VA and then to Maynard, MA in 2014, both times to be close to her children and their families.
She was predeceased by her sister, Dorothy (Dyer) Conklin of Eva, AL, and brother, F. Richard Dyer, of Hillsdale, NY, her first husband, Robert B. Wallace, of Acton, MA, and husband Gaylord M. Northrop of Little Rock, AR.
She is survived by her sister-in-law, Gita (Becker) Dyer, her children, Elizabeth A. (Wallace) Thomas (Edward), Sandra W. Kunz (Jeff), Jonathan R. Wallace (Maura), and her step-children, Melanie G. Northrop, and Dana R. Northrop (Kristen). She is also survived by 14 grandchildren: Meghan Wallace, Molli Gorrell, Max Jeffers, Nicholas Jeffers, Aaron Thomas, Daniel Thomas, Kathleen Thomas, Lauren Middleton, Rachel Forman, Sarah Forman, Rebecca Forman, E.J. Northrop, Will Northrop, and John Northrop, and 3 great-grandchildren: Natalie Gorrell, Gavin (Thomas) Tucker and Rosa Hoffman Thomas.
Covid- permitting, visiting hours are planned for The Acton Funeral Home, Sunday, May 23 from 1:00-3:00PM. Interment of cremains are Monday, May 24, at Mt. Hope Cemetery, Acton, MA
Those who wish may make donations to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research Grand Central Station P.O. Box 4777 New York, NY, 10163 or to The National Women’s History Museum Washington, DC