Family, friends remember last of Youngtown pioneers

James and Joseph Gieseler have the task of cleaning almost 50 years of furniture, clothes and other items out of the home of their sister, Roberta Northrup.

Northrup, who died of pneumonia last week, is the last of the original Youngtown residents. She lived in the area when it was considered the first retirement community in the nation. The brothers remembered when she moved into the house, one of the first homes built in Youngtown.

“We thought to ourselves why would she want to move all the way out there,” said Joseph Gieseler, who, along with his siblings, is a Minnesota native. “She lived her life the way that she wanted to and treated everyone nice, so we really couldn’t be more proud of her.”

The brothers are in town for the next few weeks clearing out Northrup’s pink house. They will have garage sales for the next two weekends to pay for her funeral expenses and bills.

“I’m not sure if we have insurance, even though she supposedly had been working on it,” said James Giesler. “Maybe there’s a chance we’ll find it.”

In the last week, the brothers and their wives have discovered a lot of items that Northrup packed away belonging to her and her late husband, Orso, also known as Bud.

The Northrups moved to Youngtown in 1959, a few years after Bud retired from his job at a local mill at age 65. Roberta was 30 years old.

“They decided to live here, and she was the youngest person in town,” said Sharon Gieseler, Joseph’s wife and Northrup’s sister-in-law. “But it didn’t bother her because she really loved this community and was involved in so many things around here.”

She was active in church, the Youngtown Historical Society and retired from her job at the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office.

Pauline Powell, a Youngtown resident and member of the Historical Society, said Northrup was the last original town resident and was dedicated to the community.

“She really loved and adored Youngtown so much and tried to help out in any way possible,” Powell said.

In 1961, Bud died of appendicitis, but Northrup continued to live in Youngtown. Even when the town lost its age overlay in 1998, allowing families to move in, she chose stay in the community.

“No matter what, Roberta always loved Youngtown, and this was her home,” Joseph Gieseler said.

Trude Kauffman, Northrup’s next door neighbor, has been helping the brothers clean the Youngtown home and will work at the yard sales.

Kauffman said she will miss Northrup, who loved to tell stories about when the town first began.

“She was a fantastic woman who was always there to help,” Kauffman said. “Those who knew her will miss her dearly because she is a pioneer here.”

Mitchell Vantrease can be reached at 876-2526 or e-mail mvantrease@yourwestvalley.com.