Joseph "Mighty Joe Young" White Young

Joseph White Young was born on Jan. 27, 1932 in Lawrenceville, Illinois. He passed away peacefully on June 19th, 2019 at Medical City Arlington Hospital in Arlington, Texas. Joe is survived by his wife, Mary Lynn, of 67 years, and their 3 children; J.B. and wife, Billie, Jeff, and Ashley all from Texas; 5 grandchildren: Brandon and his wife, Kendra, great grandchildren, Jackson and Josie whom reside in Olney IL; Abby and her husband, Matt King and their child, Kennedy; Taylor and her soon to be husband, Jacob Albo; and Shannon, whom all live in Midland-Odessa, TX. Ashley’s daughter, Amanda and her husband, Hilbert Jackson and their children Nolan and Nora, whom all live in Arlington, TX. Joe’s only sibling, sister Anabel Schmidt, preceded him in death in 2008 and his parents Melba White Young in 1983 and Richard (Dick) Steele Young in 1972.

Joe grew up in Lawrenceville and graduated from Lawrenceville Township High School in 1950 and Eastern Illinois University in 1957 with B.S. and M.S. degrees in American History, and as a Lincoln scholar. Joe had a privileged life growing up in Lawrenceville, and it is during this time that he developed his great love for the radio shows, primarily the Lone Ranger, and the serials which were shown at the uptown movie theater every weekend. Joe’s first teaching assignment was in Casey, Illinois where he also drove the school bus. He then took a teaching position at Brookside Junior High, a new type of school in Sarasota, Florida that would be one of the first schools in the nation to implement the relatively new technique of team teaching for grades 6 through 9. Joe loved his tenure there and developed many lifelong relationships with faculty and students, one of which he just recently visited here in south Arlington. In 1961 Joe was asked to come back and take over the family oil business for his ailing father, while at the same time accepting an instructors position at the newly chartered Wabash Valley Junior College which was in the southeastern Illinois town of Mt. Carmel, where he and Mary Lynn located and raised their family of three over the next 30 years. During that time Joe drilled wildcats in Illinois, Indiana, Florida, and even in Ohio where he and his partner, Ray Farrar recorded one of the largest discoveries in the Morrow County Mt. Gilead oil boom of the early to mid-1960’s. Joe helped with Mt.Carmel’s sesquicentennial celebration in the mid-sixties by bringing in actor/comedian Jerry Van Dyke, a college buddy, and legendary country singer Eddy Arnold. At the suggestion of longtime friend and attorney George Woodcock, Joe entered the political arena by taking a position with the GOP in the state of Illinois where he worked in many different capacities, whether it be as an aide to then Republican Governor Richard B. Ogilvie, or as assistant to the Secretary of State, a campaign manager for two congressional candidates. Following this stint in politics, Joe continued with his efforts in the oil business primarily in Illinois, and which he remained involved in up until his passing.

Over the years and through these many endeavors, from his days teaching, to promoting and drilling oil wells, to his time spent in politics he developed and had numerous rewarding relationships with all kinds of people. Some of the most cherished relationships he’s had were those that he’s developed over the last 10-11 years, since he and Mary Lynn moved to Texas to be near their daughter Ashley, with the wonderful people that he has met at Bobby V’s Sports Bar and Restaurant and the Whattaburger close to his home. He dearly loved those establishments and the great people he met there. He also loved his Pittsburg Pirates, his pets, and collecting all sorts of memorabilia for all these many years. To his family he instilled in all of us a great love for this country and passed along his passions for all things family, history, politics, sports, music, and drinking.

Joe truly believed that a man’s wealth or worth could not be measured by the size of his bank account, but by his friendships. By this standard, Joe was a very wealthy and happy man when the Lord took him to be with all his family and friends that preceded him. May he Rest In Peace………………………………………