Dr. John Edward Yount

Dr. John Edward Yount, 81, of Salem, Oregon, unexpectedly passed away of natural causes in his Salem home July 5, 2023. He approached life wholeheartedly, never shying from a plea for help, an opportunity to bestow appreciation, a meal shared with friends, or a chance to relate a story. To any audience. At length.

He was born to Paul and Helen Yount in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on June 5, 1942. Soon after, his family moved to Madison, Wisconsin where John grew up and later earned his undergraduate and M.D. degrees from the University of Wisconsin. John determined at an early age that his passion lay in helping people through medicine. Dr. Yount interned in Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore and completed residency in Neonatology at the University of Washington in Seattle.

During pre-med, he met Kay Elizabeth Leland. He was embraced by her large family, and the two shared a nearly 30-year marriage in six states and on three continents, quickly enlarging their family by three children and building distance defying friendships as they went. When he finished at Johns Hopkins, Dr. Yount began service as a physician in the U. S. Navy; he and Kay were stationed with their two toddlers in Rabat, Morocco. After completing his military service and then his residency in Seattle, John joined the research faculty at Oregon Health Sciences University. He was the neonatal attending there until he and Kay took a year-long sabbatical in Wales, where he was a researcher and physician at Swansea University. They came back to Beaverton, Oregon just long enough for their children to leave the house, then the couple moved to Williamsville, New York where Dr. Yount was an associate professor of Pediatrics and the neonatal attending physician at the University of Buffalo for four years.

Following a brief move to Santa Monica, John and Kay found what they hoped would be their eventual retirement location in Shell Beach, California.

After Kay passed away in 1997 at their new home, John rediscovered life in California with Linda Jean I'Anson and her son, Austin. Their 14-year union brought them two children and took them north to Salem, Oregon where John eventually turned his medical focus to research after many years travelling between California and Oregon as a neonatology consultant at multiple hospitals and hospices. Throughout his long career and life, John could never stop innovating. He patented devices used in pediatric medicine in addition to cobbling together creative mechanical solutions to improve life at home. When he finally began to allow his days to slow down a little, he enjoyed devoting his time to raising his youngest son and diving back into birdwatching. He relished sharing his dream camera's latest results with family and friends after his regular visits to a nearby wildlife refuge.

While John was preceded in death by his parents, his first wife, Kay, and his unborn daughter, April, he is survived by his four children and three grandchildren, Dr. Jennifer Spencer of Nottingham, England; Paul Yount (Karl and Kayly) of Issaquah, Washington; Christine Bobenhausen (Maximilian) of Plano, Texas; and Dylan I'Anson-Yount of Salem, Oregon. He is also survived by his brother, Dr. William J. Yount of Chapel Hill, NC. In addition, Dr. Yount is survived by many other cherished relatives and friends.

Memorial services will take place at Acacia Memorial Park and Funeral Home, 14951 Bothell Way N.E., Seattle, Washington 98155 on Saturday, July 29th at noon, For those unable to reach the location, a livestream of the service will be available.

Enquiries to Acacia at (206) 362-5525

A remembrance of his life will also be held near Salem, Oregon at a later date.