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Longtime mortuary owner dies at 84

Harold Young helped found hospice here
Young

For many La Plata County families, Harold D. Young was the kind man at Hood Mortuary who helped them through the loss of a loved one. For others, many who never knew him, he helped them through the death process after helping found Hospice of Mercy.

Young died of congestive heart failure Friday, Jan. 23, 2015, at his Durango home. He was 84.

“He started working in mortuaries in Ordway as a teenager, where his brother-in-law owned the Ordway mortuary,” Young’s oldest daughter, Vickie Anderson, said. “He saw how much they helped grieving families.”

After Young earned a diploma in mortuary science and completed his military service, he lived in Loveland and Berthoud, where he worked for the Kibbey Funeral Home. The Young family moved to Durango in 1965, where Young worked at Hood Mortuary until purchasing the business in 1976.

“He was very understanding of what people were going through and sensitive to people’s needs,” said Bill Dunn, who worked for Young for 20 years before buying Hood from him in 1990. “Both he and his wife, Jane, were very active in the business, and I learned a lot from them.”

It was Young’s experience with death and grieving families that led the committee trying to bring hospice to town to ask him to serve, said Beverly Darmour, who was also on the committee.

“We had him on the committee because of the mortuary, but not really,” she said. “He and (Dr.) Pat Luter really steered us right.”

Hospice of Mercy opened in 1982.

“It was fitting that care from Hospice of Mercy made it possible for him to remain at home until his death,” Young’s middle daughter, Dianna Fahland, said.

Young was active in the community in many ways. He was a member of the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks Lodge 507, the Masonic Lodge No. 46 and the Kiwanis Club of Durango, helping raise money through decades of pancake days. A member of the First United Methodist Church of Durango, he sang in the choir for more than 30 years and served on many of the church’s committees.

“His heartfelt service to the community is something I strive to follow every day,” said Ryan Phelps, the current owner of Hood. “He set very high standards on customer service, community service and how to be a man.”

abutler@durangoherald.com

Memorial service

A memorial service for Harold D. Young will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 7, 2015, at the First United Methodist Church of Durango, 2917 Aspen Drive.

He was born to Fred and Maybelle Young on May 19, 1930, in Ordway.

In 1951, he married Bobby Jane Young in Ordway.

After attending the University of Colorado, Young graduated from mortuary school in St. Louis with a diploma in mortuary science. Upon graduation, he went into the Army and was stationed in Okinawa during the Korean War.

Young was preceded in death by his wife of 46 years, Jane Young, in 1997; and granddaughter Chantal Anderson in 2003.

He is survived by his daughters Vickie Anderson of Lawrence, Kansas, Dianna Fahland of Spokane, Washington, and Lori Wallett of Krakow, Poland; five granddaughters; and two great-granddaughters.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Hospice of Mercy, 1 Mercado St., Suite 270, Durango, CO 81301; or First United Methodist Church of Durango, 2917 Aspen Drive, Durango, CO 81301.



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