Julie Tracy (Malenfant) Northrup, 46, of St. Simons Island, Georgia, passed away peacefully in her home in the arms of her beloved longtime boyfriend, Michael Ruberti, on January 15, 2020. Julie was born in Pentanguishe, Ontario, Canada. She had lived on St. Simons Island since 2001.
Julie was a world-class athlete. She was a weight lifting champion from age 15 through age 28. She was third in the world in Olympic weight lifting in 1991, and won numerous gold medals throughout Canada and North and Central America until she retired at age 28. She then turned to bobsleighing, and while residing on St. Simons Island, became a member of the Canadian Bobsleigh team, where she won numerous medals including a gold at the fabled Lake Placid, New York site. Her aim was to participate in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Italy, but her sled fell just short of making the Canadian Olympic team and the trip to Italy that she coveted.
In her late thirties, Julie turned to mixed martial arts fighting, and was making great progress when, in her early forties, she had to withdraw from the sport because of an accumulation of athletic injuries. Thereafter, Julie, who had travelled the world as an athlete, became a content homebody, who rarely ventured outside the confines of St. Simons Island and Glynn County, Georgia.
Julie held a Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education from Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, and an Associate’s Degree in Business from Arizona State University, which she earned after she moved to St. Simons Island.
Julie is survived by Michael Ruberti, her mother Guylaine Chapados, her father George Malenfant, her brother Jimmy Malenfant, several aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins, and, because she was a much loved, fun loving character, a legion of friends throughout North America. Julie’s considerable physical beauty was exceeded only by her kind and generous heart. Her blood relatives are spread throughout the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario.
Julie’s uncle Allen Chapados and her aunt Claudine Larochelle frequently visited her and Michael at their beach homes on St. Simons Island.
The memorial celebration of Julie’s remarkable but all too short life will be held at the Edo Miller and Sons Funeral Home, 3321 Glynn Avenue, in Brunswick, Georgia. The date remains to be set to accommodate the travel plans of her Canadian relatives and friends and the removal of the COVID-19 restrictions on travel and social gatherings.
Julie’s many local and international friends are encouraged to check the Edo Miller and Sons website, and, where possible, to attend her memorial service, which will be a celebration of her remarkable and loving life. Those who cannot attend in person, as well as those who can, are encouraged to celebrate Julie’s life in writing on the Miller website. The website address is www.edomillerandsons.com.
