Wilford Leroy Young November 1, 1923 ~ October 19, 2018 Wilford Leroy Young, 94, a long-time resident of Ogden, passed away Friday, October 19, 2018 at George E. Wahlen Ogden Veterans Home. Wilford was born November 1, 1923 in Fairview, Sanpete County, Utah to Jesse Leroy and Alice Dorthea Tucker Young. Raised there and later in Provo, Wilford pursued his higher education and his love of music at Brigham Young University before enlisting in the United States Naval Reserve during WWII.
After attending Midshipmen School at Columbia University in New York and Naval Mine Warfare School in Virginia, Ensign Young went on to serve from October of 1942 until his honorable discharge in June of 1946. His ship, YMS 401, was the first to enter the harbor after the bombing of Nagasaki, Japan. His foundation in the military would serve him well throughout his distinguished life.
Wilford married Franceszka Rachel Harley on June 1, 1949 in the Salt Lake Temple and they went on to raise a family of four together. They had celebrated their 69th Anniversary this summer and throughout those years they remained devoted to one another and to their family. Wilford received his teaching certificate from the University of Utah after completing his Bachelor of Arts in Music Education from BYU and served for many years as a junior high school teacher in the Weber County Public School System.
Over the years, Wilford served in numerous callings as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served as a counselor in the bishopric, taught the youth in Sunday School, and shared his talents supporting various church and community events. Wilford was very musically and artistically inclined.
He sang with the Ogden Chorale and also played with the Utah Symphony under the direction of Maurice Abravanel. He loved to paint, particularly with oils and acrylics, and gifted paintings to several organizations and individuals. Wilford was President of the Northern Utah Chapter of the Piano Technicians Guild for several years and was actively tuning pianos until the age of 91.
Wilford loved the outdoors. He enjoyed trailblazing, camping, hunting, and fishing, and was very involved with Boy Scouts of America. He had a great interest in cars, trains and airplanes, and learned how to fly just before he retired from teaching.
A fan of classical music, Wilford attended the celebrated performance by Rachmaninoff in the old Provo Tabernacle in 1938. With his many interests, it was not unusual to find Wilford reassembling a car engine in his shop while listening to Beethoven. Wilford was also a master storyteller and will be fondly remembered for stories about his life, his adventures and his fictional tales of the “gridamus”!
Most importantly, he will be remembered for his kindness, his loving and caring devotion to his dear wife, and for his love of learning and of family. Wilford is survived by his wife, Frances H. Young of Ogden; children, Thelissa Zollinger, Centennial, CO; Kenny (Beckie) Young, North Ogden; Harold (Creig) Young, Ogden, and Jane (Lewis) Fowers, also of Ogden; 14 grandchildren, 36 great-grandchildren; siblings, Melvin (Deanna) Young, Highland; Dorothy (Carl) Folk, Olympia, WA; Lavon Richards, Provo; Donna Tanner, Salem; Carma Bowen, Provo; and LuDean (Dean) Hutchison, Provo. He was preceded in death by his parents and by three siblings, Ruth Baum, Mary Blackburn, and Jay Young; and son-in-law, Gary L. Zollinger.
Funeral services will be held on Saturday, October 27, 2018 at 11 a.m. at the Lorin Farr Third Ward Chapel, 1570 East 1300 South, in Ogden. Friends may visit with family on Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. at Lindquist’s Ogden Mortuary, 3408 Washington Blvd. and on Saturday from 9:30 to 10:30 am at the church.
Interment, Ogden City Cemetery, where military honors will be accorded.
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