Charles Porter Northrop died December 17 at his home in Denver. His classmate, friend, and Alpha Delta Phi fraternity brother Patrick Stine wrote this tribute:
Charlie’s daughter, Carrington Staahl, has done our crying for us. Charlie would prefer our memories be of laughter. He practiced ‘deadpan’ expressions, a necessary cover for the sense of mischief not far away. He was delighted to tread the uncertain waters around irreverence and absurdity, willing to leave his listeners puzzled until they recognized that laughter was the only way to the surface. After baiting his subjects he would look away pensively, then rescue them with a burst of laughter and a rascal’s smile. It’s likely his humor was a key ingredient in his work as a lawyer, calming down angry clients and resolving conflicts out of court.
Charlie was a lousy half‐miler. His pigeon-toed gait made him a shuffler, not a runner. He always led at 200 yards, turned purple at 400 yards and slumped across the finish line looking for a place to lie down. Friends backed away for fear of having to carry him to the nearest shade. He redeemed his athletic reputation in crew where he was a worthy oar in a very successful boat.
Had he planned his departure he would have placed his pyre in the varsity shell fit with sail and pushed gently into the Connecticut at dawn. Archers would shoot flaming arrows into the rigging, counting on burning the boat to the waterline. He would be delighted if the arrows missed or the burn failed and his mates were left with an impossible cleanup. Can you hear his laughter in the mist?
Patrick Stine ‘63