It’s been a year since you went away.  I think of you often but know you and Gladys  are together.  You both were dear friends to me. I loved you very much.  Rest in peace! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Gene and I were classmates at Central High School in Shelbyville, Tennessee. I remember him as a friend and as an outstanding student. Sadly, we both are NASA retirees but never had an opportunity to work together. 
My condolences to his family. 

Gene,
  The phone calls and great conversations we had, the jokes & laughs, the memories of the time spent with you & Gladys always made my day. I will miss this..

Thank you for making a difference in each one of our lives ..in some special way. 

You built your whole kingdom in heaven, while you were here on earth.  So there's no doubt in my mind you are in a great place. 

You are and will always be the foundation of so many....And you will always be remembered as
a man with a Godly spirit, a man of integrity, a man of values, a man of  wisdom,  of courage, of great morals ..of fairness and kindness. A man with a great genuine heart. 

I will always remember you as an exemplary person who always fought the good fight. The best Father-in-law anyone could wish for. 

Thank you for leaving us with this beautiful Legacy. 

Gene, 
You will always be remembered, Loved
and have a special place in my heart.
May you rest in Grace and Peace.
We will see you again.. 

With Love,
Isabel Garcia & Family❤


It is with sadness I learned of the passing of Leighton (Gene) Young. My deepest sympathy and prayers go to his wife Gladys and his three children and extended family. I have known Gene for many years as we worked in the Electrical Division at NASA-MSFC in the Astrionics Laboratory until Gene transferred into the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) program office and remained there until he retired. Gene and I were born within twenty miles of each other in middle Tennessee both of humble backgrounds and we shared many work experiences together much of it traveling for NASA-MSFC to contractor facilities in the United States and in Europe. If there were two traits that defined Gene it was that he never wanted to stop learning and achieving and he always wanted to have fun as it was happening. In the middle of a deep technical discussion when we were wracking our brains with a problem, Gene just could not resist asking, “are we having fun yet?”, to break the tension and bring on a stress relieving laugh. I remember having breakfast with Gene and Gladys on a anchored boat in Bristol England harbor where we tasted our first “blood pudding” sausage, being in a five car end to end smash up wreck while entering Gatwick Airport near London, England, testing solar cells at the (JPL) Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California with Dr. Bruce Anspaugh who made the comment, I don’t know about you southern fellas, ever time you visit us “a crisis happens”. One visit brought on an earthquake, a second visit brought on a stock market crash and on a third visit we had a escapee from the police to find his way into JPL and hid in the ductwork causing the laboratory to close down. There are too many stories to tell but it was always a joy to be around Gene as we worked and travelled together. Gene was a man of high integrity with a good technical analytical mind with many interests who loved his Lord and his fellowman and his family and would do anything for them. 

I have fond memories of our after-class dinners at the Bavaria Delicatessen, especially those  "special" sandwiches. Miss you, Gene.

I enjoyed knowing and working with Gene at NASA over the years. We worked solar array technology and took classes at UAH in Physics.
He will be missed.


Our thoughts & prayers go out to the Young family. Gene was a outstanding man. There are so many great attributes that he had. We attended church with the Young family at Mastin Lake for several years. Our family and the Young family were the only Tennessee Vols fans in the congregation, which was difficult to say the least. 
 
I will never forget Mr.Gene Young, he was the first person to take me to Neyland Stadium,the home of the Vols to a Orange vs White game. I being a big fan of the Vols  was so excited to get to go see that stadium & watch the Vols inter scrimmage game. I did not sleep the night before going to that event, I was SO excited!!!! Mr. Young made my day! Again I will never forget this. We will miss you Gene. GO VOLS!

Love,

Joe, Lana & Taylor Bowen

We lived next door in the early to mid seventy on Battlefield Dr we have a lot of fond memories Gene name my 5 yr  daughter patti  po po  Leroy and Barbara Boyett

Gene meant the world to our family.  As we moved to Huntsville and knew nobody and started our family they took us is as family.  They loved us and they loved our children 1,000 times more.  From the time they could talk it was G-daddy this and NeeNee that. 
One of our oldest child's best memory was G-daddy let her and her dad camp in there back yard with the church group. 
From special treats to special toys the girls and us will forever remember G-daddy.  To say he was loved by all is an understatement.

One of our favorite people without a doubt! We loved spending time with him and Mrs Gladys. Our deepest condolences to all of the family. 
Love, David, Stacey, Levi and Ryan Stark

Gene and I shared a love for science, and he was FAR more knowledgeable than I.  When my students would have questions, I would email Gene, and he would always respond in terms that we could understand.  He conversed with me about being around Werner van Braun,  he presented papers at Princeton University,  he was in charge of the solar panel project of the Space Shuttle!  Yet he was always the humblest of men.  Always helping others. 
 Proud of his family and always enjoyed having gatherings.
He and I joked that we were each others "Best Cuz."  I will always remember him that way.
He was the BEST!!
I know he is enjoying discovering the God that he loved...
Blessings and Peace,
Janice West Ingram

My sincere sympathy to all of you.  As you know, Gene and Gladys have been our friends since the 70’s.  We have shared fun and also heartaches.  Gene was a great man and will be missed.  I love all of you!

OBITUARY

Major Leighton Eugene Young

August 20, 1934 – July 7, 2022

Valhalla Funeral Home & Memory Gardens

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