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John T. (Jack) Young, son of Louis A. Young and Mary Sweeney Young was born October 8, 1925 in Narberth and died peacefully at home in Haverford on June 25th at age 97. Jack went to Narberth Elementary School, Ardmore Jr. High, Lower Merion High School and Dartmouth College. After one semester at Dartmouth, he was drafted into the Army and joined the 100th Division infantry in France. He fought in France and Germany until, while receiving a battlefield commission, it was discovered that he was a diabetic. He was sent to a hospital in France close to where his French relatives lived before being shipped back to the U.S, where he resumed his studies at Dartmouth. Jack’s passion was sports. He played football at Lower Merion and Dartmouth, was on the track team at both places and was a wrestler as well. In his final year at Dartmouth, he was recruited by the Detroit Lions but chose instead to go to work for Aetna as a home office representative for the group insurance department. He remained with Aetna for 35 years and after his retirement he was asked to help coach the Dartmouth freshman football team, a job he loved. Football was always his favorite sport. In later years he played squash and tennis into his 80’s, hiked the hills of Vermont and worked hard on his property’s lawns and gardens. The most important thing to Jack was always his family. He was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, brother and friend. He met the love of his life, Mary Lee Hartzell while still at Dartmouth. They married in 1950 and had three children – Christine, John Jr. and Martha. Mary Lee and Jack lived in Wynnewood where they raised their family. In 1968 they bought an old farmhouse in Vermont with 45 acres of fields and woods which they renovated over time and where they spent many months and hosted dozens of family members and friends over the years. They loved the Jersey shore as well, Mary Lee’s mother’s house in Cape May and Avalon where they had annual family reunions for many years. There was always time to fit in some traveling as well and they were able to visit many places in the U.S., Europe and more. Genealogy is one of Mary Lee’s interests and quite by accident she discovered that Jack’s father’s family were Mayflower descendants of the Pilgrim John Howland and of his wife Elizabeth Tilley. Jack’s classmates and friends describe him as a leader who was co-captain of the football team at Lower Merion as well as president of the AA and a member of the honor society. In the army he earned a bronze star and purple heart. He was retired from service due to his disability in 1945. All of his friends and family remember Jack as a warm, loyal, kind and gentle man-a gentle giant. In 2000 Mary Lee and Jack moved to the Quadrangle where he remained a fan of spectator sports and enjoyed family visits until the end of his life. He was very much loved and will be greatly missed. Jack is predeceased by his four siblings and his beloved son, John (Carol Harrison). He is survived by his wife, Mary Lee, his daughter Christine (Alfred Gaspar), daughter Martha (Richard Garrett), ten grandchildren, thirteen great grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. The family wishes to thank Main Line Hospice staff and the wonderful aides who took such good care of Jack. A private family memorial will be held at a later date. Donations in his memory can be made to The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation 200 Vesey Street, 28th Floor New York, New York 10281 Website: jdrf.org or to Friends of Dartmouth Football Dartmouth College Gift Recording 6066 Development Office Hanover, New Hampshire 03755 Google: Friends of Dartmouth Football

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John Toll Young

October 8, 1925 - June 25, 2023