Alan Young

Husband, father, grandfather, and friend, Alan Young passed peacefully in his New Hope home on January 4th, 2026.

Born October 18, 1935, in Alta Vista, California to Virginia Weidner Young and Keith Boyd Young, he spent his early years in southern California, Arkansas, and Missouri, where he developed an appreciation for rural living and the natural world. During high school in Missouri, Al earned Eagle Scout honors and worked as a summer guide at the Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. These formative years planted the seeds of his lifelong devotion to conservation and environmental stewardship.

Upon graduation, Al enlisted and was stationed in Sapporo and Sendai, Japan, with the First Cavalry Division of the U.S. Army, serving in Special Services as a water safety instructor. In his spare time, he traveled the country, immersed himself in the culture, and refereed basketball. While these experiences provided a lifetime of stories, his night classes teaching English to Japanese students ignited his love of the classroom. After he was discharged, he studied at the University of the Americas in Mexico City, earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Kansas (Rock Chalk, Jayhawk, KU!), and later completed his master's degree at the University of Colorado - Boulder. While he ultimately majored in English, and his first love was literature, he was equally enamored with history, geopolitics, geography, and entomology.

Al's teaching career first took him to Corvallis, Oregon, where he discovered a deep love of dry fly fishing and began his lifelong involvement in anti-war activism. He was recognized with an Outstanding Teacher distinction at Oregon State University for his efforts in and out of the classroom. He spent the last 30 years of his tenure in the English department at the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point, where he provoked, challenged, and inspired countless students. While Al was dedicated to his classroom instruction, the highlight of many days was engaging in witty banter at the Student Union lunch table. The relationships he developed with his colleagues and students, many of whom became lifelong friends, were perhaps the greatest rewards of his teaching career.

A wordsmith, who like Garrison Keillor was "inordinately fond of the subjunctive," Al was a lover of language and a raconteur who held listeners captive with his wide ranging, free form discourse on an endless range of topics. There were no conversations to which Al could not contribute, and he freely admitted that some of what he said was even true. His expansive catalog of knowledge was fueled by his voracious reading habits. While his love of language led him to literature, his need to know kept him equally immersed in non-fiction.

Upon retirement, Al finally had the time he wanted to devote to his and his wife's gardens, especially his beloved hostas. His gardening legacy continues through his apprentice granddaughters, Gabriella and Adelina, the only people he tolerated traipsing through the flower beds. As a contributor to the annual Audubon bird count, Al maintained consistently high sightings through his obsessive commitment to running the Jerry's Lane Bird Food Pantry.

In addition to being a passionate gardener, Al was an avid basketball officiando, channeling his KU connection to classmate Wilt Chamberlain through decades of Laker fandom. His Official NBA Register was never out of arms' reach, always available to supplement the accumulation of data in his head. There was no conflict between his love of basketball and his love of music, as he could

often be found watching a muted game while blasting anything from Stan Getz to the Buena Vista Social Club. Like many aspects of his personality, his musical tastes were rich and eclectic.

A perfectly imperfect collection of contradictions, Al left an impression on all with whom he crossed paths. He will be missed by many, for his reach was large. Al is survived by his wife Laurie; his children, Alison Faulkner (Mike), Greg Young, Ward Young (Kim), Morgan Young (Chris Cherney), and Caitlin Young (Travis Bassett). We extend our tremendous gratitude to Dorothy, Joelle, Betsy, and Kathy of Heartland Hospice for their patience, humor, and compassion.

In keeping with Al's rejection of many social rituals, no funeral or visitation is scheduled. For those who wish to honor his memory, we suggest continuing his dedication to environmental activism through a donation to Earthjustice, the North Central Conservancy Trust, Sierra Club, Audubon Society, Midwest Environmental Advocates, or another environmental non-profit of your choice. And if someone wants to let the FBI know they can finally close his file, we think he'd enjoy that.