Susan Badgley Young

1927 - 2019

Young , Susan Badgley Susan Badgley Young, 92, of Carlsbad, New Mexico, passed away peacefully on Saturday, June 8, 2019. Susan was a bright, compassionate, and vivacious woman who will be dearly missed by friends and family.

Susan was born in Slaton, Texas in 1927. As an only child, she was doted on by her parents, both of whom worked for the Santa Fe Railroad. Susan spent her high school years in Las Vegas, New Mexico.

Following high school, Susan attended University of Kansas (Lawrence, Kansas), Highlands University (Las Vegas, New Mexico), and Washburn University (Topeka, Kansas), and married Frank Young in 1948. She loved being a wife to Frank and a mother to her two sons, Don and Ben, who were raised in Topeka, Kansas before the family relocated to Wilmette, Illinois.

After her children were grown, Susan's passion for volunteering merged with her passion for wildlife when she became a docent at Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, Illinois. Susan spent 17 years as a docent and five years as Volunteer Coordinator at LPZ.

Susan moved to Carlsbad, New Mexico in 1994 where she built the docent program at Living Desert Zoo and Gardens State Park. Susan spent 18 years as Docent Coordinator at Living Desert, and she was instrumental in helping the Park attain accreditation by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums in 2002. Susan touched thousands of lives as a volunteer, and she was very proud of the legacy she left.

Susan was preceded in death by her parents, Thelma and Donald Badgley, her husband, Benjamin Franklin Young, Jr., and two sons, Donald Badgley Young and Benjamin Franklin Young III. She is survived by her step-daughter, Cassandra "Sandi" Johnsen, and four grandchildren: Heather Coldsmith Young, Llewelyn Chapdelaine, Zachary Donald Young, and Cameron Young.

In lieu of flowers, Susan and family request that memorial donations may be made to Friends of the Living Desert, in care of The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens, P.O Box 100, Carlsbad, NM 88221. Condolences may be expressed at dentonwood.com. Sign Guestbook at chicagotribune.com/obituaries