David Yount

MASHPEE, MASSACHUSETTS-David A. Yount passed away on November 28, 2024 at a hospice on Cape Cod. He is survived by his beloved wife of 66 years, Suzanne T. Yount, his son, David Adams Yount, Jr., and daughter, Jody Spainhour Yount, and grandchildren Jack and Tess Yount, as well as two brothers, Fred and Steven Yount, and two sisters, Judith Davis and Deborah Annas. He was preceded in death by older brothers Wallace E. Yount, Jr., Paul L. Yount, James B. Yount and sisters Barbara Yount Hunt and Lynn Yount Bean.

David was born on November 25, 1933 in Granite Falls, North Carolina, the fourth of ten children to Wallace E. Yount and Jennie Adams Yount. He grew up working in the family's general store and was gifted his love of books and learning from his mother, the editor of the town's weekly newspaper.

Over six feet tall, with broad shoulders, flaming red hair, a commanding voice and robust laugh, David's entrance in a room was immediately noted by all. A man of bottomless curiosity and seemingly unbounded energy, he was recognized by all for his integrity, warmth and honesty.

After graduation from high school, David joined the U.S. Army in 1953 and served in their intelligence service in Germany. He traveled extensively throughout Europe, absorbing their diverse histories, cultures and philosophies. The experience was transformative. While in the service, David determined that he would pursue a calling to the Methodist ministry.

Upon discharge, he returned to his home town and enrolled in nearby Lenoir-Rhyne College. Shortly thereafter, he began an courtship with a young woman, Suzanne Teague, with whom he had attended high school. Although too shy to ask her out while in school, their attraction was now immediate and mutual and their romance and shared devotion endured for more than six decades.

David entered Duke Divinity School in Durham, North Carolina and earned a Master of Divinity degree in 1963, graduating as president of his class. While at Duke, David and Suzanne welcomed the birth of their son, David Jr. and they would often recall their time there as the happiest years of a very happy life together.

Newly ordained, David was assigned to a rural Vermont church. During the third year of their four year assignment, the family was graced with the arrival of daughter Jody, completing their warm and loving family. That same year, David began studying for his masters degree in American History at nearby University of Vermont in Burlington.

During his ministerial tenure in Vermont, David's religious philosophy had evolved from the Christian orthodoxy expected and practiced by most mid-century Protestants to a more humanistic philosophy based on addressing hunger, poverty and easing the suffering of the less fortunate. "My preaching, then, was to introduce people to Jesus, his teaching, his life, his sacrificial love, his willingness to suffer for others, his pacifism, his courage. I knew nothing of God, never have, and cannot still. My preaching was mostly silent about God, his personality, his goals, his whereabouts, his act, his style, or whatever he was about."

It was Albert Schweitzer's Out of My Life and Thought that convinced him that depth in religious studies could be a stepping stone to something more and needn't be an end in itself. David determined that a life of teaching the young while personally practicing humanitarian values was his true calling. Throughout his life, David, with the loving support of Suzanne, embraced charitable causes, including co-founding a Head Start program in an impoverished neighborhood, working in a juvenile reform school, and organizing home restoration projects for the indigent.

A devoted scholar and a natural communicator, he distinguished himself at two college preparatory schools: Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania, where he was also the school's first chaplain, and The Bolles School in Florida, where he taught courses as diverse as comparative religion, American History, and anthropology. A natural athlete, he had a lifelong love of golf and tennis and coached both sports at Bolles. He was also a regular speaker and on staff at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Jacksonville.

Accepting a professorship at Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk, NC in 1978 allowed David and Suzanne to return to their home state with his family's home place only an hour's drive down the mountain. Reunions with his parents, his seven brothers and sisters in the Granite Falls area, as well as regular visits from two out-of-state brothers, were times of great celebration, constant laughter and boundless love.

David considered his tenure at Lees-McRae to be the most enjoyable of his academic career and was designated a "Master Teacher" among other scholastic awards. After buying a farmhouse in nearby Boone, he turned a ramshackle barn into a workshop and crafted tables, chairs, cabinets and hutches in the stylized Shaker tradition, most of which he gifted to family and friends.

Following 17 years in Boone, David and Suzanne retired to Mashpee, Massachusetts on Cape Cod, in order to be closer to his son and his grandchildren. Devoid of a workshop, but forever a craftsman, he turned his time and attention to collecting and reclaiming rare books. He took bookbinding classes and restored many ancient and tattered volumes, once again giving many of them away to family and friends. Additionally he contributed time, labor and expertise to local Cape Cod libraries.

Comfortably ensconced with Suzanne in a town they loved, as busy as he cared to be with meaningful work, and in close proximity to a golf course-with finally enough time to play-David enjoyed the fruits of a meaningful life during his retirement. When joined on the Cape by daughter, Jody, and son, David and his wife, his circle was complete.

Looking back on his varied career, he said, "I remained interested in each field only as long as I was learning while 'on the job.' Life was too short for a 'lifetime career.' "

A good teacher touches many lives, as does a person of generous spirit. David will be missed by all who were familiar with his keen intellect, open heart and ebullient personality.