1927
Phyllis
2018
Phyllis Young
October 4, 1927 — November 9, 2018
Phyllis I. Young Obituary
Phyllis Irene Young passed away restfully at the Mercy Hospice House in Durango, Colorado on November 9, 2018 at the age of 91, four months after being diagnosed with cancer.
Phyllis was born October 4, 1927 in Munden, Kansas, the second child of George Washington Strnad and Jessie Lorene Hudson. She traveled over Wolf Creek Pass on a gravel road in 1936 to reach Durango. The trip was her first view of the mountains. The Strnad family immigrated to the United States in 1864 from the area near Velim, in what is now the Czech Republic. The Hudson family came to the United States at least thirty years prior to the American Revolution.
Phyllis met her husband of seventy years, Archie Don Young, in the late summer of 1942 while out for an afternoon stroll along Durango’s East Third Avenue. She completed high school in 1945, and attended Western State College for two years. The couple married June 26, 1948 at the First Presbyterian Church in Durango.
Phyllis and Don had two children. While the children were small, Phyllis worked part-time at the family business, Young’s Store in Allison. She returned full-time to the workforce in 1963, starting as a teller at the Bank of Ignacio. Her intelligence and interpersonal skills led to her advancement through the years. She finally served as bank president, one of a handful of female presidents of the United Banks of Colorado at the time. She blamed corporations and computers for her retirement in 1988, but also wanted to spend more time with her grandchildren.
Phyllis is survived by her husband Don of the family ranch near Ignacio; a brother, Earl Edward Strnad of West Bloomfield, MI; and two children, Donna Jo Chaney (Larry) of Andrews, TX and Craig Eugene Young (Wendy) of Ignacio. Three grandchildren (Austin Chaney, Alison deKay, and Crystal Redman) and six great-grandchildren (Lauren, Lincoln, Abel, Clare, Adam, and Daniel) also survive.
Phyllis loved camping, reading, knitting, and scenic drives in the high country. Pinochle was her favorite card game. Sadly, macular degeneration interfered with her ability to fully enjoy these hobbies in her later years. Nevertheless, to the end of her earthly life she was cheerful and happy. Christmas was the holiday she anticipated all year long, “for the kids.” She enjoyed baking Christmas cookies, especially oatmeal-raisin (her mother-in-law’s recipe) and date-filled (passed down from her mother).
A private family memorial service will be held at a later date.
Memorial contributions may be directed in her name to the Durango Hospice of Mercy or to the La Plata County 4-H Council.
Phyllis Irene Young passed away restfully at the Mercy Hospice House in Durango, Colorado on November 9, 2018 at the age of 91, four months after being diagnosed with cancer.
Phyllis was born October 4, 1927 in Munden, Kansas, the second child of George Washington Strnad and Jessie Lorene Hudson. She traveled over Wolf Creek Pass on a gravel road in 1936 to reach Durango. The trip was her first view of the mountains. The Strnad family immigrated to the United States in 1864 from the area near Velim, in what is now the Czech Republic. The Hudson family came to the United States at least thirty years prior to the American Revolution.
Phyllis met her husband of seventy years, Archie Don Young, in the late summer of 1942 while out for an afternoon stroll along Durango’s East Third Avenue. She completed high school in 1945, and attended Western State College for two years. The couple married June 26, 1948 at the First Presbyterian Church in Durango.
Phyllis and Don had two children. While the children were small, Phyllis worked part-time at the family business, Young’s Store in Allison. She returned full-time to the workforce in 1963, starting as a teller at the Bank of Ignacio. Her intelligence and interpersonal skills led to her advancement through the years. She finally served as bank president, one of a handful of female presidents of the United Banks of Colorado at the time. She blamed corporations and computers for her retirement in 1988, but also wanted to spend more time with her grandchildren.
Phyllis is survived by her husband Don of the family ranch near Ignacio; a brother, Earl Edward Strnad of West Bloomfield, MI; and two children, Donna Jo Chaney (Larry) of Andrews, TX and Craig Eugene Young (Wendy) of Ignacio. Three grandchildren (Austin Chaney, Alison deKay, and Crystal Redman) and six great-grandchildren (Lauren, Lincoln, Abel, Clare, Adam, and Daniel) also survive.
Phyllis loved camping, reading, knitting, and scenic drives in the high country. Pinochle was her favorite card game. Sadly, macular degeneration interfered with her ability to fully enjoy these hobbies in her later years. Nevertheless, to the end of her earthly life she was cheerful and happy. Christmas was the holiday she anticipated all year long, “for the kids.” She enjoyed baking Christmas cookies, especially oatmeal-raisin (her mother-in-law’s recipe) and date-filled (passed down from her mother).
A private family memorial service will be held at a later date.
Memorial contributions may be directed in her name to the Durango Hospice of Mercy or to the La Plata County 4-H Council.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Phyllis Young, please visit our flower store.
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