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Abby Willard Northrop

May 4, 2018

Abby Willard Northrop, 67, of Shepherdstown, passed away on April 23, 2018.

Abby was born on September 13, 1950, in Washington, D.C., to Johnston F. and Abby W. Northrop (both deceased). The family moved to Bedford, New York, seven years later, where Abby attended the Bedford Rippowam School. She then went to Miss Hall’s School in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, where she graduated in 1968. She attended Bennington College, where she earned her B.A. in English literature. This became her passion and she went on to Teachers College at Columbia University, where she earned her Master’s degree in English literature and received her teaching certificate.

Her first position in her long teaching career was at The Wooster School in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Deciding to return to her roots, she then moved back to Washington, D.C., where she taught at Elizabeth Seton High School in Bladensburg, Maryland, for 14 years. Seeking a new challenge, she moved to Shepherdstown, West Virginia, where she was an adjunct professor at Shepherd University. Abby retired three years ago and was enjoying traveling to Europe, spoiling her great-niece and enjoying her lifelong home in Nantucket, Massachusetts.

She is survived by her brother and sister-in-law, Johnston W. and Diana D. Northrop of Nantucket, Massachusetts, and Ventura, California; her cousin, Henry A. Willard III of Shepherdstown; two nieces, Kristen L. Braun and her husband, Peter, of Alexandria, Virginia, and Lindsay N. Stewart and her husband, Conor, of Quantico, Virginia; her nephew, Peter J. Northrop of Lodi, Michigan; and a great-niece and great-nephew.

Abby will be laid to rest on May 11 at Saint Matthew’s Church in her childhood home of Bedford, New York. Her brilliance, her keen wit and her beauty will be remembered by all who knew her.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Abby’s name to Elizabeth Seton High School in Bladensburg, Maryland.