Neal Thorpe taught biology at Augsburg

Neal Thorpe spent the first half of his career as a biology professor at Augsburg College in Minneapolis before heading to the Pacific Northwest.

Thorpe taught at Augsburg from 1967 to 1989 and served as chairman of the Biology Department and Division of Natural Sciences. He conducted research and wrote the textbook "Cell Biology," published in 1984. Augsburg named him a Distinguished Alumnus in 2001 for his work at the college and with the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, based in Vancouver, Wash.

Thorpe died of cancer March 3 at his home in Vancouver, Wash. He was 71.

While at Augsburg, Thorpe took occasional leaves of absence to work with the Research Corporation, a private foundation for the advancement of science. His work there allowed him to win science grants for Augsburg, said Ralph Sulerud, retired biology professor.

"He was very instrumental in getting student research going," Sulerud said.

That introduction to philanthropy led to an invitation for him to join M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, where he started as a senior program officer in 1989. In that role, he initiated new programs in the sciences that did much to strengthen scientific and medical research in colleges and universities in the Pacific Northwest. Thorpe went on to serve as the trust's executive director and a trustee until he retired in 2006. The trust has named a lecture series in his honor, said executive director Steven Moore.

After leaving Augsburg, Thorpe maintained close ties with the school and provided advice that led to profound changes in academic programs, said Dale Pederson, who had Thorpe as a teacher and is now chairman of Augsburg's Biology Department.

Thorpe was born in Wausau, Wis., and graduated from Wausau High School. He earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry and mathematics from Augsburg in 1960 and received his doctorate degree in physiological and organic chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He joined the Augsburg faculty in 1967 after completing a fellowship at the University of California, San Diego.

Thorpe was an avid pilot who also enjoyed beekeeping, tapping maple trees and making syrup, gardening, hiking and sacred choral music, those who knew him said.

He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Kay; a son, Peter, of Vancouver, Wash.; two daughters, Lisa Machan of Torrance, Calif., and Heather Mundis, of Shoreview; a sister, Janet Galbraith, of Gurnee, Ill; a brother, Mark, of Kirkwood, Mo., and three grandchildren.