LLOYD ROSS YOUNG

YOUNG, Lloyd Ross Lloyd Ross Young of Boston June 11, 1968 to August 23, 2025 Lloyd Ross young of Boston, Massachusetts, devoted husband to Britt Young, and father to Luke (22) and Ben (20), died Saturday, August 23, 2025, while bicycling corn-shrouded roads in rural Bloomington-Normal, Illinois. Lloyd was born June 11, 1968, to Gary and Lois Young, of Bloomington. He attended Fairview (Normal) and Carlock grade schools, Parkside Junior High School and Normal Community High School. In high school, he was on the swimming and cross county teams, played baritone horn in symphonic band and trombone in marching band and photographed for the yearbook. That experience sparked his love of photojournalism. As a youth, Lloyd did photo projects in 4-H, as well as showed sheep and built model rockets. Lloyd was active in Boy Scouts and attained the rank of Eagle Scout. His first paid job was delivering the weekly Penny Saver, including pulling a sled loaded with newspapers around his neighborhood in winter. He also worked as a lifeguard, took photos of champion animals at the Illinois State Fair, detasseled corn and walked beans. His first endeavor in bicycling was traveling around Central Illinois to compete in BMX races. His first road miles were on a borrowed touring bicycle with the family of neighbor Carl McGhee, which turned into a lifelong love of cycling. He attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and majored in Agricultural Communications, where he studied writing, photography, video and broadcast. He performed in the university's concert band and played for the Marching Illini. He honed his photographic skills working for the college newspaper the Daily Illini. He started his photojournalism career in 1991 as a photographer for the Morning Journal in Lorain, Ohio. In 1994, he returned to his hometown to work for The Pantagraph, eventually becoming an assistant photo editor. In 2001, he went back to college to pursue a master's degree at Ohio University, studying picture editing and newsroom management at the School of Visual Communications. While in grad school, he rode with the criterium cycling team. Lloyd went on to be photo editor at the Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers in Stuart, Florida, for two years before moving to Boston to be a picture editor for The Boston Globe. There, he edited Page 1, Nation/World, Metro and Business sections, co-edited the Big Picture blog and produced videos. Lloyd gained national and international acclaim as a picture editor. He won numerous photography and picture editing awards from the Illinois Press Photographers Association, Illinois Press Association, the National Press Photographers Association's Best of Photojournalism Competition, the Missouri School of Journalism's Pictures of the Year International competition and more. Besides his work, Lloyd was a focused endurance athlete. He competed in triathlons, such as a pair of IRONMAN competitions at Lake Placid, New York. His running exploits included the New York City Marathon. His last big run was a half marathon in Massachusetts with his youngest son, which was Ben's first. Friends estimate he logged more than 100,000 miles on bicycles. He traversed the state of Iowa on RAGBRAI (The Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa) rides, and around Bloomington on PACRACC (Pantagraph Area Cyclists Ride Around Corn Country), as well as numerous centuries and fun rides around Central Illinois. Lloyd would bellow to his fellow bike riders "Regulators, mount up" as his group took off from rest stations during organized rides. Family and friends traveled with him to France for support as Lloyd did the Paris-Brest-Paris brevet of 745 miles in just over 80 hours in 1999. Lloyd's adventures also took him on several trips to Alaska. He and friend, Kalvin McGhee, were hiking Matanuska Glacier near Palmer when he fell into a crevasse filled with freezing water. He started flying stunt kites and soon, Lloyd recruited several of his friends into the hobby as well. He would often share training tips and get friends hooked onto his pastimes. He would take annual canoe trips with friends on the Current River in Missouri. He was a middling golfer. Lloyd enjoyed fishing around Boston with his sons, even if just to a nearby spot in the Emerald Necklace. The trio would bring their fishing poles when visiting family back in Illinois to fish for bass. He met his wife, Britt (Carlson) Young, of Rockford, Illinois, when she was the new media editor for The Pantagraph. Coworkers invited them both out - then didn't show to set up Britt and Lloyd alone. It was snowing when they left and Lloyd immediately cleared off Britt's car, and Britt knew he was special. Their sons played soccer, baseball and hockey. They attended high school at Boston Latin School and now Luke attends University of Massachusetts - Amherst and Ben attends University of Massachusetts - Lowell. Lloyd attended as many of his sons' sporting events as possible and took photos for the other parents. "Lloyd did things that were important to me and the boys, being a dad was the best thing he ever did," said Britt. Lloyd died during a friendly competition with friends in the Tri-Me, the sixteenth year of a triathlon recognizing Carl McGhee, who died when being thrown from his bicycle after colliding with a dog on a country road. This year Lloyd was at the front, riding his bike into a rural intersection obscured by tall corn near Carlock, Illinois, when he was struck by a car. Lloyd's survivors include his wife and sons; his mother, Lois Young; his aunt, Carol Marin-Wenzel; and her daughter, Melissa Marin-Hunter; her husband, John; and their daughters, Violet and Lilly, of Tinley Park, Illinois. He is also survived by Britt's family, including her parents, Dennis and Janine Carlson, of Rockford; and her twin brother, Jeff Carlson, his wife, Missy; and their sons, Bjorn and Brody, of Rockford. He was preceded in death by his father, Gary Young; sister, A'lory Borstad; and grandparents, Lewis and Opal Zimmerman, of Kewanee and Walter & Frances Young, of Galesburg. There will be a gathering to honor Lloyd from 1-4 pm, on Sunday, October 5, at the Emerald Society, 10 Birch St., Boston and a Memorial Service at 1 pm, Friday, November 28, at First United Methodist Church, 211 N. School St., Normal. To honor Lloyd's memory, the family invites memorial gifts to his sons' college education fund. Checks payable to Luke and Ben Young, P.O. Box 320059, West Roxbury, MA 02132. Lloyd had a note on his fridge and would tell his sons "be kind, be useful." Please remember Lloyd and keep his family in your prayers, especially when you run, ride or swim.

View the online memorial for Lloyd Ross YOUNG