David Wayland Young, of Philomath, passed away on Aug. 3, 2024. He was 79.
Dave was born in Leon, Iowa on Dec. 4, 1944, to Helen and Ralph Young. They moved to Philomath, Oregon, when Dave was 2 years old. He graduated from Philomath High School in 1963 and then spent several years in the Army learning Wheeled Vehicle Organizational Maintenance and later used what he learned in a motor pool in Germany.
After being honorably discharged from the Army, he worked for the U.S. Forest Service as a civil engineering technician designing and building logging roads in the Siuslaw National Forest. He took early retirement in 1998 but wasn’t content to stay home so took a job with the College of Forestry at Oregon State University using the same skills at the Peavy Arboretum.
He met his wife, Dyana, in August of 1967 and married her on Sept. 20, 1969. They were married for 55 years and raised two children, Clinton and Leah.
His hobbies included hunting, fishing, camping and gardening. He was especially famous for raising large quantities and varieties of tomatoes and giving away the surplus. He was also an avid reader.
He was always willing to lend a hand to his friends and neighbors, whether they needed a pickup truck, tools, advice, etc. He was never short of the latter.
Dave volunteered much of his free time to the Philomath community. When his son joined Boy Scouts, Dave volunteered with Boy Scout Troop 161 as an assistant scoutmaster for about a decade.
He was also chair of the Library Steering Committee that planned and built Philomath Community Library and spent many Saturdays assisting with the construction.
He is survived by his wife, Dyana; children, Clint and Leah; and siblings James (Cheryl) of Independence, Tim (Terri) of Philomath, and Kathy; as well as several nieces and nephews.
Dave’s family would like to thank the kind and caring staff at Regent Court Memory Care who took care of him for the past year.
A memorial service will be held on Aug. 24 at First Baptist Church, 335 S. 26th St., in Philomath at 2 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, please make any donations in his honor to the Corvallis-Benton County Library Foundation (Philomath Branch).