Lotus Dee Young

Lotus Dee Witham was born in Attica Twp., Lapeer Co., MI to Mileta Evelyn Scott and Leon Donald Witham on February 19, 1936. She was the first of three daughters born to the couple.
As a young girl, she began playing a small piano at the age of six. She continued her lessons through the end of High School and enjoyed the music that she was able to make with the piano through college and into her early married life. She played "Rhapsody in Blue" for her High School piano recital.
While in grade school in Lapeer she began a life-long love affair with reading. Her interests later in life were general history, military history, and historical biographies. Lotus was an intelligent child from a young age, and she graduated High School a year ahead of her peers. Later in life, she successfully joined the Mensa Society at the urging of a life-long friend, Joan, whom she first met in college.
Lotus attended Alma College in Alma, MI where she joined the Kappa Iota Sorority, a literary society, and graduated in 1957 with a B.A. degree majoring in English with minors in French and Education. After receiving her Teachers Certificate, she began her career in the Davison, MI school system in 1957.
Lotus married Lloyd Melvin Young (Jr.) on June 20, 1959, in Lapeer, MI and the couple established their home in Detroit, MI soon afterwards.
She left Davison for the Detroit school system, eventually landing at Hampton Jr. High where she taught both English and History until 1972 when she relocated to Perrysburg, Wood Co., OH with her family. This marked the end of her career teaching within public school education systems.
While in Perrysburg, Lotus took a position with the Girl Scouts of America where she trained other GSA leaders. She also joined the Perrysburg League of Women Voters of which she became President serving between 1973-5. She always loved assisting on election day at the voting booths. She continued as an LWV member through the mid-1980's.
Lotus relocated to Grayling, MI, and she and Lloyd divorced in 1988 in Perrysburg. Afterward she attended Central Michigan University earning an M.A. in Education in 1992. By now she had moved to Ludington, MI and obtained a position with the Mason Co. prison system in their Adult Continuing Ed. Dept. teaching classes to in-mates and retiring a final time in 1988.
Her other interests included The Clan Scott Society (a Scottish lineage/historical society) as a Lifetime member, becoming a Lifetime member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Nipissing Chapter, and she became a member of the Association of American University Women (AAUW). As a graduate of Alma fifty years earlier, she became a member of Alma's Golden Thistle Club in 2007. She was also something of a gourmet cook often donating multiple course Greek dinners for sale at the annual auction fund raiser for the Ludington Public Library.
She returned to live in Perrysburg where Melissa cared for her needs for about ten years before she moved to Woodland Park, Teller Co., CO. There she lived with Mark for nearly ten years.
Late in life, Lotus lost the use of her legs due to atrophy of her leg muscles and became bed-ridden in the nursing home she had entered. Lotus lost her life, on Oct 07, 2025, in Colorado Springs, El Paso Co., CO, because of an accident that took place in the nursing home where she resided. She passed away at Memorial Central Hospital attended by her son Mark.
She is proceeded in death by her former husband, Lloyd M. Young and her parents, Mileta E. (Scott Witham) Taylor and L. Donald Witham. She is survived by her son, Lloyd Mark Young; daughter, Melissa (Kaye) Notestine (Robert); grand-daughter, Jennifer (Rist) Burden (Chris); Sisters, Kathleen (Kay) Parkinson (Jim), Jennifer (Sue) Brockman (Hank), half-sister Janet (Lee) Kramer (Mark); and five nieces.
A celebration of Life will take place at High View Baptist Church in Woodland Park, CO on Dec. 6, 2025 at 11 am. A livestream video will be available to be viewed by those unable to attend in person at the church website: www.HighViewChurch.org.
The family requests that instead of flowers, gifts can be made in Lotus Young's name to either the Clan Scott Society, Mensa Society or League of Women Voters.
To send flowers
to the family or plant a tree
in memory of Lotus Dee (Witham) Young, please visit our floral store.