Glenn Edward Young, 71, of Litchfield died Sunday morning, July 17, 2016, at Meeker Manor in Litchfield with his wife by his side. Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday, July 21, at Johnson-Hagglund Funeral Home in Litchfield, with sharing time at 7 p.m. A memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Friday, July 22, at First Lutheran Church in Litchfield. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service. Interment will be at Lake Ripley Cemetery, Litchfield. In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred and will be used for family travel costs.
Glenn, son of Phil and Audrey (Bacon) Young, was born Dec. 17, 1944, in St. Cloud. He grew up in Paynesville where he graduated from Paynesville High School in 1962. Glenn was a baker at Young's Bakery in Paynesville until 1967 when allergies to flour forced him out of the family business. Glenn soloed on his fifteenth birthday and got his license the day after his sixteenth birthday. He used his flying background to become a flight instructor and charter pilot for Willmar Air Service from 1967-1969. Glenn then became Johnson Bros. first pilot in 1969. After being diagnosed with MS in 1971, he continued to work for Johnson Bros. in a management capacity including truck dispatcher, flight department manager and weather forecaster for all the job sites. He retired from Johnson Bros. in 1995.
After offering Ethel Sorensen free flying lessons, he was united in marriage five months later at Walworth Baptist Church in Ulen, Sept. 23, 1967. Glenn and Ethel were blessed with three children, Matthew, Evonne and Peter.
Glenn had a quick wit and was known for his dry sense of humor. In his younger years, he was a member of the talented and humorous Black Straps marching drum group. He enjoyed fishing, bowling, playing adult hockey and was a skillful woodworker. He used his woodworking skills to build a Tempete airplane with Ethel. They then built an aluminum plane (T-18) together.
Glenn spent a lot of his life volunteering for areas in his life that he was passionate about. He enjoyed being active in church where he taught Sunday school, worked with the boys groups and youth groups. He also ran the sound board. He was a member of Harvest Community Church.
He supported and was very active in Litch D/C Hockey, where he was a past president, treasurer, coach and team manager. He ran the clock for youth and high school games, made wooden plaques for each child, scheduled referees and sharpened skates for many years. He was also on the District 5 hockey board. He managed Litchfield Airport many years and was flight coordinator for Wings of Mercy. He also did a daily weather program on KLFD (Litchfield) and the KASM (Albany) radio station for many years.
Glenn is survived by his wife, Ethel Young of Litchfield; children, Evonne (Bob) Fix of Maplewood and Pete (Tija) Young of Nairobi, Kenya, Africa; grandchildren Joel, Seth, Leah and Sela; sister, Carolyn Welter of Paynesville; and nephews, Mike, Mark and Dan.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Phil and Audrey; and son, Matthew.