Obituary of Marjorie Ellen Northrup

Marj Northrup passed away peacefully at the Saint John Regional Hospital on Friday, September 11, 2026.

She is survived by her daughter, Amy (Stephen); 3 cherished grandsons: Cody, Shane, and Luc; her sisters: Eileen, Shirley (Dean), Lois, Sally (Billy), and Susie (Jack); her brothers: Gordon (Theresa), Hazen (Debbie); her sisters-in-law: Monica (Lynn) and Joan; and brothers-in-law: Brian (Pam) and Eddy.

Marjorie (Cummings) Northrup could make any room feel like a kitchen table, make any stranger into a friend, and never failed to make sure that everyone felt like they were in on the joke.

Born April 30^th, 1948, in Southfield, NB to Leo and Kathleen (Monahan) Cummings, Marjorie was nineth in a crowd of 11 siblings, and she loved them all as fiercely as she did everything. For her, family was everything. Her brothers and sisters were her first friends, and they remained her best friends all her life.

Marj was up and out running with her siblings through the hills of Southfield as soon as she could, and once in motion, she never stopped, falling in love with music and dancing. Our Marjorie Ellen the Watermelon was the life and soul of the party. She filled space and held space for others in equal measure, always quick with a story, or a big joke you probably would have to send the kids out of the room for. Growing up and leaving the farm, she first moved in with her eldest sister, Eileen. Marj quickly became best friends with Eileen’s husband, Jim and learned important life lessons like:

• older sisters won’t sugar coat things for you, but will give you all the horrific details of childbirth if you make the mistake of asking,
• the only way to bathe six children under the age of six is to directly apply the same brutal efficiency and assembly line process it takes to dip sheep,
• and the best way to get out of double-booking dates to a dance is to have your brother-in-law distract one at the front door while you sneak the other out the back.

Fittingly, Marjorie met her husband, Murray , at a dance,  and together they could clear any dancefloor they set foot on. They married February 23^rd, 1974, surrounded by friends and family.

Unyielding, loving, and utterly unforgettable, Marjorie’s life can only be measured by the depth of the relationships she cultivated – dance partners, card-party rivals, friends from every walk of life, beloved sisters and brothers and cousins, scores of nieces and nephews who she always found the time for, and above all, the bond she shared with her treasured grandsons, Cody, Shane, and Luc, and her daughter, Amy.

Marjorie and Amy’s relationship was entirely unique – despite there never having been a mother and daughter pair so similar. Marjorie and Amy have always been a matching set, the ultimate adventure partners. From clogging to figuring out raising three boys to road trips to pick up new bath tubs in Fredericton: there was nothing they couldn’t tackle. Amy inherited her mother’s cadence and timing, her ability to hold a room in the palm of her hand, her easy and generous affection, and above all, her devotion to family. Amy grew up with cousins more like siblings – incredibly easy to love, just like her Mom.

Marjorie was preceded in death by her parents, her sisters Alice (Gib) Branscombe, and Doris (Ed) Whitters, her brother Lawerence (Joan) Cummings, her beloved husband Murray Northrup, and her infant son, Mark Garth.

Marjorie was in the delivery room for the birth of all three of her grandsons and never missed an opportunity to spend time with them. She loved them all in equal measure; Cody’s grad photo did not get hung in the hall until both Shane and Luc had graduated as well. She spoke of them so highly to everyone, her stories hilarious as always, but underlining how smart and kind and good they were, what good men they were growing up to be – even as she called them ‘Little Damners’.

Cody, Shane, and Luc paid back that love, always eager for a game of cards in the hopes of winning a pass on chores (they never won, Nan saw to that as she wanted to teach them life’s hardships), lending a helping hand in any way she needed and making sure Nans Tim Hortons tea and muffin was in the exact spot so she could be sure to find it in the morning.

Marjorie leaves us with a legacy of love and laughter. She made us all better storytellers, better troublemakers. She lived as an example of how to be warm and generous, an example of how best to raise children to love their families and the people around them to the greatest extent possible. Love is the anchor at the centre of a life well-lived, and we are all so lucky to have been able to have been loved by her.

Gravity has shifted a bit, and we will feel the space left in her absence always – but I think we can all agree that heaven just got a bit rowdier and a lot more fun.

Arrangements have been entrusted to Wallace Funeral Home, 34 Sunnyside Drive, Sussex, NB (506-433-1176), from where a visitation will take place on Tuesday, September 15 from 3-7pm. A Mass of Christian Burial will take place from St. Francis of Xavier Catholic Church on Wednesday, September 16 at 11:00am.

Donations in memory of Marjorie may be made to a charity of the donor’s choice. Personal condolences to the family and donations may be made through wallacefuneralhome.com.