Barney Thornton Young

Barney Thornton Young died on May 2, 2023. He was born on August 10, 1934 in Chillicothe, Texas, to Bayne and Helen Irene Thornton Young, who predeceased him. He attended public schools in Amarillo, and El Paso, Texas, and El Cerrito, California, graduating from Amarillo High School in 1951. He received a BA degree Magna Cum Laude from Yale University in 1955, and an Llb degree from the University Of Texas School Of Law in 1958 where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Law Review and Grand Chancellor at the law school.

Barney’s academic excellence foreshadowed an outstanding legal career. Following seven years with Dallas’ then largest law firm, Thompson, Knight, Wright and Simmons, he and five Thompson Knight lawyers formed Rain Harrell Emery Young and Doke. His firm ultimately became a predecessor of Locke Lord LLP, now a major international law firm. Barney’s practice focused on corporate and securities law, and he became one of the leading Dallas lawyers of his generation. His incisive mind, iron-clad integrity, and mastery of the myriad details of securities law made his council essential for companies engaged in any complex transaction. Younger lawyers, as well as those considering a legal career, also sought Barney’s advice as he excelled at mentorship. He was a member of the State Bar of Texas, the Dallas Bar Association, and the American Bar Association.

In August 1957, he married Sarah Elizabeth (Sally) Taylor also from Amarillo. Barney and his beloved wife, who predeceased him in 2016, enjoyed a wonderful life together of almost sixty years. Bonded by numerous mutual interests, including a deep love of Santa Fe, New Mexico where they had a house for 20 years, Sally was his treasured companion and best friend. Their marriage was not only a source of joy for them but an inspiration for their children.

Barney believed strongly in giving back to his community and he did considerable non-profit charitable and governance work throughout his life. Given the importance of education in his own success, he supported schools at both the secondary and university levels. He served for many years on the Yale Development Board and was southwest regional chairman for a campaign that raised $1.7B between 1992 and 1997. He also established a scholarship at Yale to aid others like himself who needed financial aid. He received the Yale Medal in 1999 and the Yale Club of Dallas medal in 2001. Barney also served as Chairman of the Boards of the Hockaday School, St. Mark’s School of Texas, and The Lamplighter School; he subsequently became a Lifetime Trustee of each school. Barney’s other nonprofit work included governance and fundraising activities as a board member for numerous organizations including the Dallas Zoological Society, Dallas Historical Society, Mental Health Association of Dallas County, and Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. He also served on the boards of Horchow Mail Order, Inc. and the Jones-Blair Company.

Always impeccably attired, and unfailingly courteous, Barney exemplified the best qualities of an earlier era. However, his reserved professional demeanor sometimes masked other aspects of his unique personality. He had a myriad of interests about which he was deeply knowledgeable, including contemporary geopolitics, sports (notably college football), and history, especially military history. A conversation with Barney might cover topics ranging from Russian foreign policy, to the prospects for the year’s top college football teams, to the finer points of British strategy during the Boer War. A voracious reader, he provided an endowment to Yale’s Sterling Library for the purchase of military history books. He maintained a circle of close friends with whom he enjoyed socializing and with whom he shared his wry sense of humor. Above all, he was devoted to his family. For them, no sacrifice was ever too great, no burden too heavy.

Barney is survived by his children, Jay Thornton Young and his wife Laurie, Sarah Elizabeth Young Miller and her husband Eric, and Serena Taylor Young Ritch; and grandchildren Katherine Elizabeth Wade Young, John Alexander Taylor Young, Sarah Elizabeth Miller, India Grace Miller, Matthew Thornton Miller, Sophie Taylor Ritch, Emma Thornton Young Gudis, and husband Greg, as well as great-grandchild Honor Imogen Gudis.

The family would like to express its appreciation to Estella Fraire for her devotion to both Barney and Sally over many years. It would also like to express its appreciation to Nell Beck for her companionship with Barney in recent years.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the Community Home for Adults, Inc (CHAI) where his granddaughter Sophie has resided since 2016, or to the development offices at St. Mark’s, Hockaday, and Lamplighter.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.Sparkman-Hillcrest.com for the Young family.