Lelah “Ann” Young

Lelah “Ann” Young (born Ware) died peacefully in Alexandria, VA, on April 24, 2020. She was born August 30, 1939, in Sweetser, Indiana.

Predeceased by her daughter, Christine Elizabeth Herrman, in 2002, Ann is survived by her husband, Robert “Bob” Young; children Michael Young and Brian Young; grandchildren Elizabeth Ann Garrison, Gabriella Young-Smith, Isabelle Young-Smith, Calvin Hurlock, and Nathan Hurlock; great-grandchildren Jordan McGahan, Noah Herrman, Zachariah Garrison, Asher Garrison, and Eli Garrison.

Ann spent most of her life giving her family and community the benefits of her strong, steady, and caring nature. The middle of three children, including her younger brother Ted and older sister Mary Lou, she grew up around Kokomo, Indiana, and graduated from Northwestern High School. True to her unflappable and nurturing spirit, she became a registered nurse in 1960. In 1963, while working part time as a nurse and studying as an undergraduate student at Indiana University in Bloomington, Ann met an Economics graduate student named Bob Young, marrying him six months later. Soon thereafter, Ann discontinued her undergraduate studies, moved (though she did not like air travel) to Calcutta, India, for Bob’s work, and spent her time there as a volunteer nurse at the local children’s hospital.

For Bob and his work focusing on international development, Ann coordinated and endured moves from Bloomington, Indiana, to Calcutta, India; back to Bloomington (1967); to Columbus, Ohio (1968); to Geneva, Switzerland (1973); then finally back to the U.S. (1979) to settle in Fairfax, VA, for the next 38 years. But not only did she manage all those moves for Bob, while in Switzerland, she also raised three children, including a newborn, in a country where she didn’t speak the language(s), and while Bob travelled to developing countries for weeks and sometimes months at a time.

Ann always provided the non-judgmental and steady hand through good times and bad (as she said, “If you did your best, that’s all you can do”), not only for own her family, but for the countless other families that she cared for as a pediatric visiting nurse for many years at the INOVA Hospital System. After her children moved out and she retired from nursing, she brought her love and healing spirit to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She also enhanced her neighborhood book club as the only member who traditionally read the last chapter of books first (she LOVED Agatha Christie!), and so was often called on as such a reference.(!) Among her greatest joys were visiting with grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and gathering family together for meals and holidays.

On December 31, 2015, Ann experienced the first of a number of strokes over the next few years. In 2017, Ann and Bob moved out of their home of 38 years and into The Hermitage, in Alexandria, VA, a senior living facility where Ann could get the care she needed as her health declined. From her time growing up in the United Methodist Church, to decades at Emmaus United Church of Christ, to her later years returning to her United Methodist roots, Ann’s faith in God and devotion to family brought her strength. Time after time, Ann recovered from serious illness with Bob always faithfully at her side, until she finally passed away due to COVID19. Although the virus made it extremely difficult for family to visit Ann in her final few days, her fellow nurses took good care of her, well grasping the legacy of selfless caring in which Ann played such large part.

A memorial celebration of Ann’s life will occur at a place and time to be determined as public health conditions allow. Please contact Brian Young, at bayoung@umich.edu, to provide contact information to be placed on a list to receive relevant announcements.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the United Methodist Committee on Relief, at https://www.umcmission.org/umcor.