Daily Oklahoman, The
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
January 22, 2009
SAPULPA - A funeral is planned today for former state Sen. John
W. Young, a Sapulpa lawyer who served in the state Senate for
more than two decades. Young represented parts of Creek,
Okfuskee and Lincoln counties from 1964 to 1986.
He died Saturday at age 85. Young was
elected to the state Senate as a Democrat in 1964. He founded a
ministry for young women that is now known as Freedom House.
Young is survived by his wife, three
sons and three brothers. Services are 10 a.m. today at the First
Baptist Church in Sapulpa.
John Wallace Young was born on
November 25, 1923, in Sapulpa, Oklahoma. The son of Glen
Olen Young and Thora Kate (Shiflet) Young. He received his
undergraduate degree from Tulsa University in 1946 and his
law degree from the University of Oklahoma in 1950, where he
served as the President of the Student Senate; and John
Young and his older brothers, Glenn and David, were the
third generation of attorneys in his family. They joined
their father in the firm of Young, Young, and Young. One of
his sons and one of his grandsons also became attorneys.
John Young practiced law for over 58 years. He was a member
of the American Bar Association, Oklahoma Trial Lawyers
Association, Creek County Bar Association, and Tulsa County
Bar Association; and John Young served in the U.S. Navy in
World War II. He was also a businessman, rancher, oil
producer, and real estate developer.
Senator Young was elected to the
Oklahoma State Senate in 1964 and served until 1986; and Senator
John Young's 22-year tenure in the Oklahoma State Senate was
marked by his fervent support for reforming state government,
especially the judicial and penal system, and protecting the
state and teacher retirement systems; and John Young was active
in the Sapulpa Chamber of Commerce, Lions, Round-Up Club,
American Legion, Friends of the Library, and the Sapulpa
Historical Society. He was a Patron for the School for the
Handicapped; and John Young founded Freedom House, a ministry of
Teen Challenge, for women with life-challenging problems. He
crusaded to transform Creek County into a "drug free" area. He
regularly visited inmates in the Creek County Justice Center
twice a week. John and his wife Claudeen ministered together in
churches and hospitals, sharing encouragement, helping those in
need, praying for the sick, and showing compassion for others;
and John W. Young, died on January 17, 2009, at the age of 85
years.
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