In a jacuzzi-like tub filled with cold water in the Chosun Hotel in downtown Seoul, Korea, U.S. Army Captain Thomas Edison Northrop was baptized on Dec. 22, 1946.
The baptism, performed by Lt. Col. James R. Barker, was the first in the newly liberated country, according to Richard Harris who, also in the military, attended the baptism. The baptism of Brother Northrop, who will be 100 years old on March 1, launched the spirit of missionary work in Korea, Brother Harris said, though full-time missionaries didn't arrive until 1954.
Brother Northrop, who lives with his daughter, Margot Northrop Johnson, is a member of the Athens 2nd Ward, Athens Georgia Stake.
He was born in Bocas del Toro, Republic of Panama, March 1, 1907, the son of Eugenia Lopez and Max Broderson. Mr. Broderson, a local merchant, died three months before the birth of his son.
Thomas was 12 years old when he was adopted by Charles William Northrop, a Panama train dispatcher and telegrapher. His birth mother approved the adoption, believing that her son would have a better chance for education and a bright future.
After graduating from Balboa High School in Panama, he won a scholarship to Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colo. He met and married Ada Lois Gieskieng while there and became a U.S. citizen. They have a son, Alan.
Sister Johnson, in a Church News telephone interview, said the family didn't even know their father had been baptized until they joined him in Korea about a year later. When Sunday came, he told them to get ready to go to Church. The Northrops were stalwart members of their branch for the 15 months they were there.
Through the years, as he moved constantly with the military and then as an engineer, Brother Northrop always supported the Church, Sister Johnson said. He loves the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Sharing one of the choir's recordings with a friend in England years ago helped lead to his friend's conversion.