Mary Aileen Young

MARY AILEEN DEXTER YOUNG died at her home at the age of 89, on Monday, March 26, 2018. Mary was the youngest of seven children, and the only daughter born to William R. and Mary Blanche Dexter, on May 6, 1928, in Las Vegas, NM.  Her father, an elder and missionary in the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS) worked for the Santa Fe Railroad, and her mother taught school in a one-room school house.  Through the church and the railroad, the family moved frequently, from Iowa to Missouri to Michigan, and in 1931, they moved from Las Vegas back to Michigan, where they lived until 1951, before settling in Independence, Missouri.

Mary Aileen graduated from Michigan State College, receiving a B.S. in education. She married her college sweetheart, Loren B. “Mike” Young, in 1946, and they had two sons. Mary taught school, and  retired from the Ludington, Michigan, school district after 21 years of teaching elementary education. Mike pursued his interest in agriculture, and they both worked tirelessly on their large commercial fruit farm in Ludington, Michigan, until Mike’s death in 1986.

In 1991, Mary moved to her retirement home in Rainbow Springs, Dunnellon, Florida, where she was very active in the community.  She was a revered library volunteer, and an accomplished bridge player.  Mary was a member of the Ocala West United Methodist Church in Marion County, Florida; the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution; and the AAUW-Ocala Branch.

Mary was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, and her six brothers, Paul, Hale, John,  Joseph, Fred, and (William) David.

Survivors include her two sons, Thomas L. Young, Dunnellon, Florida; Ronald D. Young, Ocala, Florida; two sisters-in-law, Patricia Dexter (Fred), Conroe, Texas; Marilyn Thaden Dexter (David), Sedona, Arizona; and many nephews and nieces.

A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, April 4, at Roberts Funeral Home in Dunnellon, Florida, at 2:00 p.m.