February 9, 1943 – December 27, 2024

John Allen Young was born February 9, 1943 at St. Lukes Hospital in Los Angeles. He died on December 27 at Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital with his wife, daughter and friends at his side. He was 81 years old.

John’s father, Don Alexander Young, was a career Air Force officer stationed around the globe for all of John’s childhood, so although the family home was in Santa Ana, they spent little time there. After graduating high school from Wheelus Air Base High School in Lybia, John attended Cal Berkeley, and married fellow Air Force brat, Wendy Ware. They were married for close to twenty years and had two daughters, Tracey (Fearnside) and Pennie (Wyatt). The daughters kept John out of military service during the Vietnam war so instead John got a job with a brokerage house in San Rafael and pursued a career in the investment industry. In the late 1970s, looking for a change, John became a certified Respiratory Therapist and worked in multiple hospitals in the Oakland area, until his divorce, and the death of his mother Ruth (ne Ruth Shulz); in late 1985 he moved to Nevada County. Reinventing himself yet again, John worked as a Management Recruiter for the environmental industry, retiring in 1997.

John met and married Amanda (Mindy) Blankenhorn in 1990 and they have resided in the Red Dog Road area of Nevada City ever since.

John loved his dogs, his tools and his home. He loved to draw and plan his next “project.” He was funny, smart, cynical and opinionated. He wanted to die at home, but sadly that’s not how it worked out, and for that I apologize. Nevertheless, the kindness, support and compassion of the staff in the ICU, made a bad situation survivable, and for that I am endlessly grateful. At John’s request, there will be no service.

John is survived by his wife Mindy, daughters Tracey and Pennie, and grandsons Jack and Charlie Fearnside.