Eugene Young (1924 - 2015)

Born 16 Dec 1924 in Whelen Springs, Arkansas, United States

Died 2 Jan 2015 at age 90 in California, United States

Biography

Obituary

Eugene Yong (Big Gene) was born on December 16, 1924 in Whelen Springs, Arkansas to Lela Goshen and Sam Young. He was one of eight children. Diamond Pennington, Lonnie Young, Josephine Hill, Cornelius Walker, and Odie Young preceded him in death. Hattie Brewer of Little Rock , Arkansas and Irene Haney of Prescott, Arkansas are Eugene's two remaining sisters.

Eugene attended school in Whelden Springs, Arkansas. After he become an adult, he moved to California where in 1947, he met and married Edna LeDoux. Eugene was not afraid of hard work and he worked many jobs over the years to support his family. His last professional endeavor was at the Pacific Steel Company in Berkeley, california where he was a crane operator for twenty years.

Eugene attended Berkeley Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church where he bacame a member under the leadership of Dr. M.T. Thompson in 1966. He tool great pride in his service at the church and was well respected and loved by his church family One would often see him cutting the lawn or performing custodial tasks to ensure the church was always in a pristine condition. He would also be seen making soup for the Helping Hands Ministry and holdin the Doorkeeper's Station as a Senior Usher. Eugene was ordained in 1991 as a Deacon and would often participate in serving Communion.

Eugene's most favorite time of the year was the Fourth of July when he was known to rise in the early hours of the morning to prepare for a barbeque feast. One could find Big Gene in a cloud of smoke from his well-used smoker and grill on his backyard cooking up some mean ribs and barbeque chicken. This was a time for all of Big Gene's family and friends to gather together to enjoy his mastery of the grill and eat until the couch beckoned one for a nap. Big Gene would sit off to the side with the look of contentment on his face as he observed all of the interactions between multiple generations that took place in his backyard.

Eugene will be missed by his wife of sixty-seven years, Edna Young; his five children, Thomas R. Young of Berkeley, CA; Alan E. Young of Richmond, CA; David L. Young and his wife, Kathleen of Hercules, CA; General C. Young of Berkeley, CA and Gayle J. Brown and her husband Victor of Oakland, CA; his devoted sister-in-law, Ruth Jackson of Richmond, CA; his adopted daughter, Joanne Carpenter of Richmond, CA; two soecial nephews James Thornton and his swett wife Agnes and Lonnie Bynum; nine grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; a very special friend, Gail Isserman and a host of other relatives and friends.^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ http://www.fouchesfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Eugene-Young-2/#!/Obituary