William Aaron Young

William Aaron Young, age 15, died peacefully in Colorado after a tough battle with brain cancer. Will was born to Jackie and Andrew Young in Chicago. He was a graduate of Harper Elementary School in Wilmette, Illinois and Boulder Country Day School in Colorado. Will was a 9th grader at Fairview High School in Boulder and hoped to pursue higher education and a career in computer science and technology.

Will had an adventurous spirit and loved learning new things, including riding anything with wheels, solving the Rubik’s cube consistently in less than one minute, coding computer algorithms, and speaking French. Will was a gifted musician who played three musical instruments (saxophone, guitar and piano) and was blessed with a beautiful singing voice. He performed with his middle school band and musical theater production as well as his high school jazz band.

Will was passionate about cycling throughout his life, winning silver at the Illinois state cyclocross championships at age 9 and mountain biking with the Boulder Junior Cycling club after moving to Colorado. He also enjoyed other sports including basketball, hockey, lacrosse, downhill and water skiing. With an infectious smile that lit up the room, he inspired many friends to try new things, including music and basketball.

Will showed kindness and inclusivity to all, regardless of age. He gave himself to others, volunteering by packing meals with Feed My Starving Children and organizing the preschool committee as a student council representative. He loved traveling to Alaska and Canada to spend time with family and friends.

In spite of his illness, in his final weeks, he performed a saxophone solo with his school jazz band and celebrated his 15th birthday with friends and family on his last day of school.

Will is survived by his parents Jackie and Andrew, sister Lauren, grandparents Tom and Judy Boyle and Eileen Young, beloved aunts, uncles and cousins in Canada and Switzerland, and dear friends in Wilmette and Boulder.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Will’s honor to support pediatric cancer research to help other kids:

https://www.morganadamsfoundation.org/willyoung/