Eulogy to my dad

My Dad

...loved life.
...had 5 boys by the time he was 23.
...played football and coached our football teams.
...played baseball and coached our baseball teams.
...loved to water ski.
...was a railroad man for 38 years.
...was a wonderful church organist.
...was the best piano player in the Roanoke Valley and beyond.
...had a knife collection.
...broke his arm jumping over a parking meter when he was younger.
...shot a mean game of pool; I watched him win a $2 bet making the 8 ball on the break (we were playing partners at 2nd Alarm).
...was a Nintendo Master.
...was an excellent table tennis player (and don’t you call it ping-pong). "I can play"!!!! (That’s for you Steve)
...kept his checkbook balanced to the penny.
...rescued me from the dive of a motel I was staying at when I was 20.
...brought me a gallon of gas when my car wouldn’t go.
...kicked my butt in chess.
...swam in my pool last summer, then insisted on buying me a new pump and pool sweeper.
...’s favorite meal was roast beef w/gravy and potatoes.
...could live off from Kraft macaroni and cheese AND hot dogs.
...was a computer enthusiast. His email address was the same as his name: Ron@Northrup.com
...loved to raft and fish on the James River.
...didn’t care much for big fancy cars, as long as they would get him from "Point A to Point B" He called them AB cars.

My Dad:

Your father, son, husband, uncle, or friend, loved life and loved all of you; but he hated broccoli.

The Distance by Evan & Jaron

Posted in the Roanoke Times
on Sunday, March 10, 2002

NORTHRUP, Ronald Elgin, 63, of Roanoke, died Friday, March 8, 2002. He was a son of Olive and the late Frank A. Northrup of Conneaut, Ohio. He was also preceded in death be his brother, Frank Northrup of Ashtabula, Ohio. Surviving are his loving wife, Jan Northrup; five sons, Bob of Raleigh, N.C., Mike of Sanford, N.C., Dave of Mt. Pleasant, S.C., Ron of Fredericksburg, Va. and Steve of Kinston, N.C.; and nine grandchildren. He worked nearly 38 years on the railroad. He began work in Conneaut with the Nickel Plate Railroad in 1959. He transferred to Norfolk and Western Headquarters in Roanoke in 1967 and then to Atlanta in 1987 where he retired in 1995 as a Superintendent of Transportation. He was a gifted athlete and brilliant musician. He was a sports champion in his youth, excelling in baseball, football and table tennis. He began playing the organ in church at the age of 12 and served as the organist for many churches throughout his life. He enjoyed sharing his talents and played the piano of the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia, Homestead in Hot Springs, Va. and the Hotel Roanoke Regency Room. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, March 11, 2002 at Oakey's Roanoke Chapel. The family will receive visitors at 10 a.m. prior to the service. Flowers are appreciated or a donation to the American Lung Association is encouraged. Arrangements by Oakey's Roanoke Chapel.