Russell Dietz Thorp
Russell Dietz Thorp Dies in California
Memorial services will be held Saturday for Russell Dietz Thorp of Mountain View, whose promise of fulfilling a rugged heritage ended in a lumber camp accident. He died Oct. 27 at Stanford University Hospital after nearly 20 years in bed. He was 50.
Thorp, 1776 California St., was the sole direct survivor of a pioneer Wyoming family. His grandfather, Russell Thorp, ran a stage line and his father, Russell Jr. was a cattle rancher.
Thorp, born in Denver, Colo., started early as a bronco buster in rodeos and was a policeman in Cheyenne, Wyo., after attending Amherst College and Wyoming University.
He served in the U.S. Army as an intelligence officer for a few years and then went to work as a lumberjack in Idaho.
In May of 1956, he was paralyzed from the chest down when a tree fell on him.
Thorp spent the next five years in hospitals and at one time had the unusual distinction of being in Stanford hospital longer than any other patient, three years.
A series of operations and treatment enabled him to get around in a wheelchair briefly, and he embarked on a plan to attend Foothill College and then Stanford University to complete his education. Various setbacks ended that hope after starting at Foothill in 1961.
He had earlier studied Russian and did research for fellows at the Hoover Institute at Stanford University, including Alexander Kerensky, one-time premier of Russia.
Memorial services will be at 3 p.m. Saturday at All Saints Episcopal Church, Hamilton Avenue and Waverley Street, Palo Alto.
The Lusk Herald
Dec. 29, 1977
Russell Thorp Buried here
There will be a graveside service for Russell Dietz Thorp Friday, Dec. 30 at 1:30 p.m. at the Lusk Cemetery. Thorp died Oct. 27 at the Stanford University Hospital in California. A complete obituary appeared in the Dec. 8 Lusk Herald. The Rev. Frank Bozart will officiate.
Images & Attachments
Related/Linked Records
Record Type | Name | |
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Obituary | Thorp, Russell (07/23/1877 - 10/26/1968) | View Record | Historical | Organization of Niobrara County, author unknown. | View Record | Historical | Reminiscences of the Founding and the Growth of the Town of Lusk | View Record | Historical | Old Mother FeatherLegs, Ike Diapert and George McFadden Share Lonely Grave Along the Trail, South of Lusk Monument | View Record | Historical | Niobrara Co. Passes Air Mail Quota Pageant at Lusk Airport at 3:00 P.M. | View Record | Historical | History of Old 77 Ranch | View Record | Historical | Cheyenne & Black Hills Trail and Stage Line | View Record | Historical | Cheyenne-Deadwood Trail | View Record | Historical | Niobrara County History Series, Part 2 | View Record | Historical | Quilt Project - Connecting the Threads of the Past | View Record | Historical | Quilt Squares - Russell Thorpe Stagecoach | View Record | Historical | Cheyenne-Deadwood Stagecoach's Last Surviving Driver Fred Sullivan | View Record | Historical | Airmail 1938 - National Airmail Week | View Record | Historical | Hat Creek Dateline: 1882/10/15 | View Record | Historical | Automobile History in Niobrara County | View Record | Historical | Hat Creek Dateline: 1882/11/14 | View Record | Historical | Hat Creek Dateline: 1883/05/22 | View Record | Historical | Hat Creek Dateline: 1883/05/24 | View Record | Historical | Hat Creek Dateline: 1883/07/20 | View Record | Historical | Hat Creek Dateline: 1883/08/30 | View Record | Historical | Texas Trail born with mass exodus to the north | View Record | Historical | Cheyenne - Deadwood Stage Coach Presented to Lions | View Record | Historical | Lusk Founding | View Record | Historical | Old Mother Featherlegs Shepard, by Russell Thorp | View Record | Historical | Stage on the Way; May 17 Celebration is Being Prepared | View Record | Historical | Sullivan, Phillip Fred | View Record | Historical | Gov. Warren Praises Lusk 1886 | View Record | Historical | Men Big Enough to Match the Prairie Ran the Stage Line | View Record | Historical | Once Trails Crossed Near Lusk; Now It's Highways | View Record | Historical | Stagecoach Museum | View Record | Historical | Local D.A.R. Organized in ’24; Created Park | View Record | Historical | Historical Agnew Ranch Sells Thursday | View Record | Historical | Cold Springs Stage Robbery in 1878 Was Most Daring | View Record | Historical | Lusk's First Business Men As Recalled By the Founder and First Editor of The Herald | View Record | Obituary | Thorp, Josephine (04/30/1842 - 01/18/1912) | View Record |