Donald Northrup

Donald Northrup, 92, of Storm Lake died July 14, 2026, at WelLife in Alta.

Memorial services will take place Monday, July 20, at 2:30 p.m. at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Storm Lake. Burial will be in Storm Lake Cemetery. Visitation with a time of fellowship and refreshments will be held one hour prior to the service at the church. In lieu of flowers, memorials will be donated to Harper’s Heroes Fund for childhood cancers of Colorado Springs in honor of Don’s great granddaughter. Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake is in charge of the arrangements.

Don was born Aug. 4, 1933, to Louis and Alice (House) Northrup at Belvidere, Neb. He was baptized as an infant and later confirmed his faith in 1943. Most recently, Don was a member of St. Mark Lutheran Church in Storm Lake where he served as an usher for many years. Don attended school at Thayer County Country School. He graduated from Belvidere High School in 1950.

On June 15, 1956, Donald was united in marriage to Carol Mahloch. To this union, two daughters were born, Tami Jo and Toni Rae.

Don worked as a highway patrolman from 1963 until 1966. He began his career in insurance, later working as district manager of Iowa Mutual for Western Iowa. In 1995, he was named Iowa Mutual District Manager of the Year.

When his girls were young, much of his time was spent camping, fishing and untangling fishing lines. You could find him and family vacationing at various baseball and amusement parks. For many years he was involved as an umpire for girls softball and officiated girls volleyball. After retirement he spent many years driving a school bus for Storm Lake public schools. Don was very involved with his girls’ activities and with his grandkids. He enjoyed watching them participate in their sports and attended all the events he was able to. He was so proud of them. Golf, carving, woodworking, gardening and of course Nebraska Football, were all a big part of his life. We are all so thankful that we have our carved Santa collections and nativity scenes which have always been priceless to us. Iowa Hawkeye fans should be on alert — he will be bending God’s ear on game days vs. Nebraska. We couldn’t have been more blessed with a better father and a loving husband.

Donald is survived by his wife Carol Northrup of Storm Lake; children, Tami (Steve) Moritz and Toni (James) Ledford; grandchildren: Christa (Matt) Nitchals, Cassie (Chet, Hartwell, Zachary (Katie) Ledford and Tyler (Meghan) Ledford; great-grandchildren: Braxton and Bryant Hartwell; Alice Nitchals; Harper and Barrett Ledford; extended family and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents; six sisters and their husbands; one sister-in-law; and four brothers-in-law.