Gordon Forrest Young

Obituary

Gordon F. Young

1937- 2023

Gordon F Young Jr, age 85, of Skillman, NJ, passed away, suddenly and unexpectedly, on April 30, 2023. He was born in Troy, NY on July 4, 1937, to Ruth and Gordon Young Sr. He was joined by two sisters, Priscilla and Judy, in the following years. After grade school in Ardsley, NY, he graduated from Mount Hermon School for Boys in Gill, Massachusetts, in 1955, and the University of Rochester in Rochester, NY, in 1959. Upon his graduation in 1959, Gordon entered the United States Marine Corps, where he served for seven years, and received an honorable discharge as Aviation Captain. After this, he spent several years in the Yukon and Northwest Territories of Canada as a bush pilot, assisting prospectors and scientists with their work.

From there, he pivoted into commercial aviation, and began an exciting and successful career as an international airline pilot for Pan-American World Airways, and later, Delta Airlines. He began with Pan Am on Valentines Day 1966, as a Navigator on the Boeing 707 Airplane, using the ancient art of celestial navigation to navigate the skies. During the Vietnam War, Gordon was assigned to assist the military by flying supplies on Pan Am aircraft to Vietnam. In his 42 year career, Gordon advanced from Flight Navigator, to First Officer, to Captain, and had ratings on many different aircraft, including B707, B747, B727, B737, B767, DC8 and L1011. He had an illustrious 42 year career as an international Pan Am and Delta Airlines Captain. Gordon is and was one of the few pilots remaining from "the Golden Age of Air Travel."

Work, life and play took him to many parts of the world. Gordon lived in quite a few- and shared interesting stories about all of them! He commuted from Queens, San Francisco, Mt. Tamalpais in Mill Valley, CA and Southport, CT to pilot 747s out of JFK Airport. In 1969, he contracted Cheoy Lee of Hong Kong to build the 36' ketch sailboat, AUM, and deliver her to FL. Gordon docked AUM in the Bahamas, a frequent destination for his mother, stepfather, and many friends who enjoyed exciting and amusing boating holidays. He lived in New York, San Francisco, off his sail boat in the Bahamas, in Berlin, Germany, and eventually settled in Lawrenceville, and later Skillman, NJ.

Gordon's big passion was hunting, a hobby since childhood. He went on many hunting trips all over the United States, in Germany, and Argentina. A nature-lover at heart, he and his dog were always planning their next outdoor adventure. Gordon even completed the German hunting license, the Jaegerbrief in Germany and was subsequently invited to a German Hunt. He began hunting as a young man with his father in upstate New York, and didn't stop until his last hunting trip in Arizona at the age of 85.

After retiring, Gordon was also actively involved in social services as a friend and mentor to many in the community. He volunteered with Stanford Rescue Squad in Stanford, NY; the Juvenile Conference Committees of New Jersey in Lawrenceville, NJ, and did dog therapy with his hunting dog, Adal, at Morris Hall, also in Lawrenceville, NJ.

Gordon was also a loving husband and father. He married his college sweetheart, Wendy Faber in 1960, and they welcomed a daughter Annette together. In 1975, Gordon married his second wife Maria Catell, and spent fifteen years together. In that time, they designed and built a passive solar house in the 1980s in upstate New York, a mostly unknown concept at the time. In 1991, Gordon married his third wife, Heidi, and later that year, their daughter Jennifer was born . Gordon's family had many branches, but he always made sure to keep in touch and let his loved ones know he cared about them; many of his friends and family members remarked that they had "just spoken" to him prior to his passing. He especially enjoyed connecting with his daughters Annette and Jennifer, whom he spoke to every night.

Gordon is survived by daughters Annette Czack (Jim) of Loudon, NH and Jennifer Young (George Athanail) of Brooklyn, NY; grandchildren Langdon Tarbell (Molly) of Lee, NH and Josie Toepfer (Owen) of Phoenix, AZ, and great grandson Lawrence Toepfer.; sisters Judy Townsend of Guttenburg, NJ and Tonbridge, England and Priscilla Mathews Young of Minneapolis, MN. Gordon lived a remarkable and fruitful life and made a difference for many. He is dearly and deeply missed by his family, and many friends and fans, around the world.

Memorial services will be held Saturday, July 22, 2023, from 1-4 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 50 Cherry Hill Road, Princeton, New Jersey 08540-7626. Service begins at 1:15pm.

Please RSVP via link Paperless post link https://pp.events/aad7YM4x, or to Jennifer Young, 929-393-9898, with questions.