My Dad passed away two days ago. He was 89 and I have mentioned him many times in my daily diaries the last few years. He lived life to the fullest but it was time for him to go. I am so relieved he is out of pain and this chapter has ended. He was himself to the bitter end and never lost his sense of humor or his dignity. He died peacefully in his home under the care of hospice. I will forever miss him and always appreciate the unique and special person he was. I just wrote his obituary which I would like to share with you.
Colonel Jack D. Young, Sr. (U.S. Air Force retired) died in Colorado Springs, CO on September 4, 2012. He was born June 12, 1923, in Memphis, Tennessee, to Fred R. Young and Ollie Mae McDublin Young.
A veteran of WWII, the Korean War, and the Berlin Airlift (the one he always said “everyone forgets”), he was a pilot who flew B25’s, and a highly decorated officer, to include two Purple Hearts. He joined the Army Air Corps and graduated from pilot training in 1942, in Pampa, Texas. During his 33 year military career he moved all over the world with his family. They were stationed in Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Goose Bay, Labrador, Scotland, Massachusetts, Florida and Colorado.
He was NOT your typical military officer. His sense of fun and adventure resulted in him losing his pilot’s license when he fulfilled a promise to “buzz” a fellow airman’s parent’s house in the town of Little Rock, Arkansas, upside down, 50 feet above the ground. He hired Hank Williams to play at the NCO club in San Antonio, Texas and became friends with him. He thought Goose Bay, Labrador should have a goose and flew in the only goose on the Goose which became a family pet. He put slot machines in the officers club in Scotland in 1963. He was a rebel who managed to become a Colonel with only a high school education.
After he retired, he became known as Cadillac Jack to his many friends in Monument and he was a legend in his own time. His love for cars, especially Cadillacs and Lincolns, earned him his nickname. He would go to the grocery store and come home with another car. He had a ton of friends who could always count on him for whatever they needed. He would give a stranger the shirt off his back. He was not shy, and never backed down from a confrontation. He was charming, funny, irreverent, and totally his own person. He loved life and animals and cars and clocks and he could fix anything. He was an artist and did copper prints, carved wood and ceramics. He was a photographer and took pictures all his life. He left behind hundreds of thousands of pictures and videos. He had one of the first TV’s in the early 50’s and put it on a picnic table outside for all the neighbors to enjoy.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 60 years, Virginia M. Young, his daughter, Dolly M. Stolp, and his grandson, John W. Young, Jr. He is survived by his daughter, Donna Shugrue, of Colorado Springs, his sons, Jack D. Young, Jr. (Sandy) of Houston, Texas, and John W. Young (Glenda) of Jacksonville, Fl., nine grandchildren, and eleven great grandchildren.
He will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery will full military honors. He will never be forgotten and will be greatly missed by many. Adios Cadillac Jack, may you rest in peace!
To be continued……………………..