Nicholas "Nic" Young

Iowa City, Iowa – Nicholas "Nic" Young, 41, of Miami, Florida, passed away on December 6, 2025, after a long and courageous battle with colorectal cancer.

Funeral Services to celebrate Nic will be held on December 20, 2025 at Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service, Iowa City.

Visitation will be on December 19th from 5 PM to 7 PM at the funeral home. Burial will be at Oak Hill Cemetery in Coralville.

Nic was born the youngest identical twin to Jack and Pamela (Mascher) Young on February 5, 1984, in Iowa City, Iowa.

After graduating from Iowa City West High School in 2002, Nic continued his education at Drake University where he earned his undergraduate degree in magazine and journalism. While at Drake, Nic became heavily involved in non-profit work, including an internship at the National Heritage Foundation and working for the World Food Prize. He maintained a long-standing relationship with the World Food Prize, returning to Iowa in October for many years to assist in the awards ceremony.

Nic began his career at the Meredith Corporation in Des Moines, where he helped digitize Better Homes and Gardens and create an online presence for the company. During a vacation in Miami, he met his beloved partner, Jose Rosado. A year later, he accepted a job at the Burger King Corporation and moved to Miami.

In 2011, Nic changed careers and entered the luxury travel industry, where he found his true calling. He started at Prestige, then moved to Grace Bay Resorts in Turks and Caicos before accepting his final position at the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, where he served as the Senior Director of Social and Digital Marketing until December 1st, 2025.

Nic's lifelong love of learning and his desire to occupy his extra time during the COVID-19 pandemic led him to begin his master's degree in digital marketing. Even after his terminal diagnosis, Nic chose to finish his degree, completing it in the winter of 2023. Nic proudly walked the stage at Rutgers University in New York in May 2024.

Nic had two true passions in life: traveling and spending time with friends; often enjoying both simultaneously. Throughout his 41 short years, Nic visited 52 different countries, turning strangers to friends wherever he went.

Among he and Jose's many adventures, Nic most loved the year they lived in London, considering it his favorite place on Earth. Reflecting on his early years before entering the luxury travel industry, Nic often joked that he and his friends started with beers and breweries and graduated to wine and the finer things in life. Maintaining his spirit for adventure, Nic proudly stayed in 30 Ritz-Carlton hotels around the world, traveled on each of the three Ritz-Carlton yachts, and had the bathrobe pictures to prove it.

During his battle with cancer, Nic endured 74 rounds of chemotherapy, 30 rounds of radiation, three surgeries, and many rounds of blood and platelet transfusions. Nic and his family are forever grateful to the many donors who enabled him to continue fighting until the very end.

Nic is survived by his father, Jack Young; his sisters, Leah (Ron) Calvert and Rachel (Ben) Wehrle; his twin brother, Zac (Laura) Young; his nieces and nephews, Abigail and Gabriella Wehrle, Norah and Hailey Calvert, and Jack and Dorothy Young; many beloved aunts, uncles, and cousins; his Godparents Skip and Pat Wells; and his numerous close friends that were family.

Nic was preceded in death by his mother, Pamela Young, and his beloved partner, Jose Rosado.

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