Paul D. Young ’50

Paul D. Young ’50 died after a brief illness on Nov. 25 in Washington, D.C. He was preceded in death by his wife of 31 years, Ann Mary Shaffer Young; by his wife of 22 years, Mary Frances Allen Young; by his parents, James Gordon and Irma Louise Schmidt Young; by his twin sister, Norma Young Collier; his brother, Arthur K. Young; and his daughter, Linda Allen Bagley. He is survived by daughter, Gay Young (Karim Nashashibi) and her twins, Leila and Walid, 6427 Dahlongea Rd., Bethesda, MD 20816-2101; sons, William Andrew Young and Thomas H. Allen III; granddaughters, Dana Hood and Erin K. Bagley; and several great-grandchildren. He is also survived by brother, Shannon Young; sisters, Laura Jageman (George) and Shirley Adwers (Ron); many nieces and nephews; and his loving companion, Bobbi Yauger. Young was born in Houston Jan. 13, 1926. He worked in his father’s woodworking business for one year and then declared his intention to be a Presbyterian minister. He attended Trinity University for two years, graduated from Davidson and from Yale University Divinity School in 1955. He was ordained and installed Aug. 5, 1955, as pastor of the Webster Presbyterian Church, Webster, Tex. He was called as organizing pastor of Trinity Presbyterian Church, Denton, Tex., and then was called as pastor of Central Presbyterian Church, Waco, Tex. In 1972 he was called as executive presbyter, stated clerk and treasurer of Palo Duro Presbytery, with offices in Lubbock, Tex. In 1978 he earned the degree of doctor of ministry from McCormick Theological Seminary. He retired in 1988 and moved to Santa Fe in 1990, where he became a volunteer with the Santa Fe Opera as coordinator of volunteers for youth night performances and archivist of John Crosby’s daily correspondence. From 1946 to 1949, Young served as a volunteer-in-mission in Puerto Rico for the Board of National Missions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), working primarily in construction and animal husbandry, and there became fluent in Spanish, his college major. In March 1949, he married coworker, Ann Mary Shaffer in Puerto Rico. Their daughter, Gay, was born in New Haven, Conn., in December 1950. In New Haven and Bridgeport, Conn., Young organized two Puerto Rican worship communities and preached in Spanish each Sunday evening. He also served federal, district, and municipal courts as an interpreter for Spanish-speaking defendants. In the three pastorates and the administrative position, Young oversaw construction of two church buildings and expansion of two others. From the time he could hit his thumb with a hammer, he seemed destined to be a builder. In all four of the positions, Young established supportive contact and sometimes organizational structures to assist black and Hispanic individuals and groups attain their rights in society. Since September 2000, Young was a member of Lutheran Church of the Servant, adjacent to the Kingston residence where he and Mary Frances moved in September 2003, and where she died in January 2004. He served on the church council and as secretary of the council.