Timothy Young

Former Anchorage resident Timothy J. Young, 44, died Dec. 28, 2006, at Divaki Hospital, Chennai, India, of respiratory failure after a long struggle with heart and lung problems.
A tradtional Puja funeral and cremation were performed Jan. 3 in Mahaballipuram, India. Mr. Young's ashes were released into the Bay of Bengal. Pictures may be viewed at www.shunpiker.org/tim.
A gathering of Tim's friends to share memories will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at the home of Martin Hall in Anchorage. The Web site contains directions, and guests are asked to R.S.V.P. to 274-2271 or tims-gathering@shunpiker.org.
Mr. Young was born Oct. 23, 1962, in Big Spring, Texas, to Bobbye Jean and J.T. Young. Mr. Young graduated from Steller Secondary School in Anchorage in 1981. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1987 and a Master of Arts in teaching in 1988, both from Lewis and Clark College.
After college, he returned to Anchorage and taught for the School District from 1988 to 1997, including eight years as an English teacher at Steller Secondary. From 1999 until this year, he taught overseas in Thailand and Korea.
A friend wrote: "Mr. Young was a gifted poet, actor and social activist. He believed in justice and committed his life to teaching, helping others and celebration. His writing inspired people all over the world, and brought down the house at Anchorage poetry slams. He was a mystic, a wanderer and a follower of the Hindu goddess Kali.
"Tim's friends are his remaining family. We knew him as a man so generous he repeatedly gave away everything he had and left himself in poverty. We wonder at his extraordinary talent and fierce joy, and at his pain and difficulty in finding a place where he fit in the world. We were indelibly altered by Tim's wisdom and his foolishness, each of us in our own way, and this legacy remains permanently with us."
Mr. Young is survived by his aunt, Joann Davis, of McKinney, Texas.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Bobbye and J.T. He had no siblings.
Friends may share thoughts on Tim's memorial Web site at www.shunpiker.org/tim. Send written material and photos for posting to riley@shunpiker.org.