James F. "Fred" Young

  James F. (“Fred”) Young of Homestead Village, Lancaster, died peacefully on December 28, 2023 at the age of 95.  Born in Lancaster in 1928, he was the younger of two sons of the late Abram H. and F. Blanche Mackley Young of Manheim.  He was the loving husband of the late Mary Lou Bigler Young of Manheim; they had been married 71 years at the time of Mary Lou’s death in November 2022.

  Fred graduated from Manheim High School in 1945; he then attended Franklin and Marshall College and Yale School of Medicine (Class of 1949, 1953).  From 1953 to 1960 he trained in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology at Graduate Hospital in Philadelphia; during that time he served for 2 years in the U.S. Air Force, stationed at Corpus Christi, TX.  Fred returned to Lancaster County in 1960 to practice Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology; he retired in 1992 after 32 years of that practice.

  Fred was a member of Highland Presbyterian Church in Lancaster.  His hobbies included:  reading serious books (he was an avid reader of non-fiction and history); enjoying classic movies; and listening to classical music.  He loved opera.  Working as a camp counselor in New Hampshire as a young man, Fred developed a love of the out-of-doors, and later enjoyed leading his children and grandchildren on adventures. Over the years, he hiked many segments of the Appalachian Trail; he enjoyed cross-country skiing, bird-watching, and bicycling the country roads of Lancaster County.  He knew ALL of the county backroads and especially enjoyed taking his children on the ones with the big (up)hills.

  Surviving are three children and their spouses – Margaret Young and husband Mark Anderson of Knoxville, TN; Mary Young and husband Frank Melville of Parker, CO; and James F. Young Jr and wife Sonia Young of Seattle WA – six grandchildren, three great grandsons, and many nieces and nephews.  Preceding him in death are his wife Mary Lou, a son, Steven Thomas Young, and his brother, J. David Young.