Chilkat Valley News - Serving Haines and Klukwan, Alaska since 1966

Deborah Young died at home in Haines on June 13 at the age of 70. She loved the Seattle Mariners, gardening, and made "the best chocolate chip cookies," said daughter Alisha Young. Alisha remembers her as a very genuine and caring person. "If she loved somebody, she loved them with everything she had."

Deborah Young was born July 2, 1949 in Eugene, Oregon to Enyard and Jewel Morrison. Young and her four siblings spent their childhood moving around the West Coast. When Young was in high school her family fixed up a bread truck and explored Alaska, ending up in Haines for two years where she attended Haines High School. Her family moved back to California, where she graduated from high school in Alturas in 1967. She then went to the University of California Davis, where she graduated in 1971 with a bachelor's degree in psychology.

Young loved to travel and experience new things, including skiing, surfing, and hiking. "She has so many crazy stories from before she lived in Haines," recalled Alisha. One night, while living in a teepee in Tahoe, Young realized two bear cubs had started playing on top of her sleeping bag. She played dead, and somehow managed to fall asleep while the cubs carried on. "She was resilient. She knew how to figure it out, how to make it work," said Alisha. Young moved to San Francisco in the 1970s and worked a temporary job there. From San Francisco she went on vacation to Hawaii, and decided to stay there "because it made her happy. If it made her happy, she would do anything," said Alisha.

In 1990 Young went back to Haines for a high school reunion, where she met and fell in love with lifetime Haines resident Jack Young. The two married in 1990, and in 1991 Young gave birth to their first child, Michael-Paul. Fellow Haines resident Ellen Larson shared a Juneau hospital room with Young, having given birth to her daughter the same day. "We were both just ecstatic," Larson said. In 1995, Young gave birth to daughter Alisha. Friend Doris Bell recalled Young sending her pictures of her children. "Deborah was really blessed with her children. They were her pride and joy, " said Bell. Young set aside her free-spirited traveling days and dedicated the rest of her life to raising her children. "She always put everyone, and every creature she's ever owned, ahead of her own well-being. She did what made her happy, but first what made others happy," Alisha said.

"She was a good mom," said Jack Young.

Young loved animals, and she had many pets over the years, including beloved Pete the cat, Jennifer the dog, and Flash the iguana. Young worked with the Haines Animal Rescue Kennel to help capture stray cats. "She had a great love for her cats," remembered Bell. "She put all of her soul into those things," said Alisha.

Friends who ran into her at the grocery store they knew they could count on her to wave and say "hi" in her gentle Mary Poppins-like voice. It was with that calm tone that Young often reminded her children to "just breathe, and be in your moment." She believed in moving on, letting go, and enjoying everyday life, Alisha said.

Young leaves family Michael-Paul, Alisha, and Jack Young. She also leaves siblings David Lawrence, and Daniel, Donald, and Deena Morrison, as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

Cards can be sent to the Young family at P.O. Box 1332 Haines, AK 99827.