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.

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