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Douglas Robert Young
August 12, 1942-December 20, 2009
Douglas R. Young of Forest Hill, Louisiana passed away surrounded by his family and friends in St. Francis Cabrini Hospital on Sunday, Dec. 20, after a short illness.
Doug is survived by his wife of 44 years, Marcia Fralick Young, and his three children, Samantha Young, Kevin Edwards, and Douglas R. Young Jr. and his wife Sheri, all of Forest Hill. He is also survived by his three grandchildren, Matthew Douglas, Sean, and Eric Young. He is also survived by his mother, Edith D. Young, and his three brothers, Stanley and Don of Forest Hill, and David of St. Francisville and numerous friends and relatives.
He was preceded in death by his father, Robert E. Young.
Doug , who was born and reared in Forest Hill, attended Forest Hill High School, graduating in 1960. He graduated from LSU in 1966, and was employed by the Louisiana Department of Social Services until his retirement in 1997.
He, and his wife, started Doug Young Nursery in 1979 and grew it into one of the largest nurseries in the South, with a service area that stretches from the Atlantic coast to the Rocky Mountains, and world wide. In addition, he also had business investments in several other states, as well as holdings in Costa Rica.
Doug enjoyed his grandchildren, his granddog, his work, entertaining family and friends at home and , relaxing to Andrea Bocelli at his lake house on Indian Creek, and traveling, especially to Costa Rica. In the last two years, he had visited Europe numerous times and loved taking in the world's culture ( including Italy, Germany, Spain, England).
He was also known for his philanthropy. Among Doug ‘s interests were St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, the Alexandria Zoological Park, and Forest Hill Academy.
Although Doug was a successful nurseryman and an astute businessman, he always kept his priorities in place. His family and friends were the most important things in his life. He was always thankful that he could make his living doing something he enjoyed. He grew up working in the nursery business on his father’s nursery, and continued that tradition with his own children, all of whom are now involved in the DYN corporations.
Doug was always an innovative thinker, who was not afraid to try a new idea if he felt it had merit. He was the first nurseryman in the local area to experiment with contract labor on repetitive jobs which allowed him to monitor cost of production more closely. He was also the first in the local area to utilize a sales staff, and the first to dedicate an entire operation to the ‘mass market’ production of plants. A lot of Doug’s experiments are now common practice in the Forest Hill horticulture industry.
Doug will be sadly missed by his family and friends, and the employees of the DYN companies, who knew and appreciated the effort he made to reward them for not only their labor, but also for their loyalty. He touched the lives of so many in the local communities and throughout the region with his love for helping out others.
There will be a gathering of relatives and friends at Good Hope Primitive Baptist Church in Forest Hill on Wednesday, December 23, 2009 for visitation, at 1:00 PM, followed by a Memorial Service at 2:00 and interment at Paul Cemetery.
The family requests that donations be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Doug's memory in lieu of flowers.
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