Sally Young

Sally Ann Young

2019

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Obituary of Sally Ann Young

 

Sally Ann Young

        Sally Ann Young, 79, of rural Wahkon, passed away in the morning of September 22, 2019, in her home with her family at her bedside, after a protracted battle with pernicious liver disease.

       

        Sally is survived by her husband of 53 years, William, her daughter, Andrea (Jeffrey Reade), of Marbella, Spain, her son Jeffrey (Karri Lind), of St. Michael (MN), her step-son, William (Marcia), of Ann Arbor, MI, her granddaughter, Paige, of Monticello (MN), her grandson, Tyler of Monticello (MN), her step-granddaughter, Alexandria, of Glendale, AZ, her step-grandson, William, of Ames, IA, her niece, Katherine Murray (Lawrence), of Charlevoix, MI, her niece, Kristen Sundstedt (Bo), of McKinney, TX, her nephew, Mark Arnold (Debra), of Ellsworth, ME, grandnieces Erika and Heather Murray, of Grand Rapids, MI, grandnephew Lawrence Murray IV, of Grand Rapids, MI, Jennifer Sundstedt, of McKinney, TX, grandnephew, Martin Sundstedt (Alissa), of Lakeville, (MN), and cousin, William Curnalia (Anne),and their three sons, William, Patrick, and Matthew Curnalia, of Roscommon, MI.

       

        She was preceded in death by her parents, Charles E. and Lucille I. Curnalia, of Lansing, MI and by her sister, Jean E. Arnold (Charles), of Traverse City, MI.

       

        Sally Ann (Curnalia) Young was born to Charles and Lucille Curnalia of Lansing, MI, on July 10, 1940, in Lansing, MI, where she attended Lansing public schools and graduated from Lansing Everett HS (Magic Johnson's alma mater) in 1958.  She enrolled in Michigan State University and graduated in 1962 with BA, majoring in French.  Following graduation, she taught French at Royal Oak Kimball HS (MI) from 1962 to 1967.  Her colleague at Kimball was a Latin teacher, who four years hence became her mother-in-law.  On August 21, 1966, she wed William Young, of Royal Oak, MI in the Alumni Memorial Chapel on the campus of Michigan State University.  The following June, in 1967, she and her husband reloacted to Leadville, CO, where she taught English and French, and her husband was on the inaugural faculty of (East Campus) Colorado Mountain College.  In August, 1969, her father's illness brought them to Rochester, MN for treatment, so Sally and her husband relocated to Detroit Lakes, MN, where she taught language skills in the Minni-CEP. The following year, they moved to the Mille Lacs Area, where they have resided ever since and raised their two children.

 

        In the early '80's, Sally enrolled in classes in St. Cloud State University to update and enhance her Minnesota teaching credential.  Forappoximately the next twenty years, she was a short-term, and in two cases, long-term substitute teacher in the Onamia, Isle, and Mora school districts.  In the 90's she presented classes in French via Interactive TV system which was broadcast from Onamia to other school districts in central Minnesota.

       

        Sally was a woman of varied interests, abilities, and accomplishments.  Aside from her formal education and fluency in French, later in life, she was inspired by an adult education class to study Russian, to the point of reading, writing, and conversational fluency.  In summer of 1993, she enrolled in the "Friendship Force" and traveled to St. Petersburg, Russia where she made a life-long friend of a young woman with whose family she stayed during her visit.  Sally also made four other trips abroad to France, Spain, Austria, and Peru, for her pleasure and enlightenment.

       

        Sally also mastered the art of stained glass, from the beginnings of making small ornamental decorations to more ambitious works.  She made the crosses and angels for Crosier Community quarterly catalog, many hanging panels of artistic scenes in stained glass, glass-bordered and framed wedding invitations (as gifts), with her husband's assistance, stained glass glazed curio cabinets, made from various hardwoods and carved with decorative motifs.  With greater labor of love than monetary return, she filled four churches' windows with her stained glass creations, two in the Wahkon-Isle area, one in Ogilvie, and one in Long Prairie.

       

        In addition, she was an accomplished figure skater and a good roller blader on hard surface, as well as an avid rider of motorcycles.  Aboard her favorite "bike", a Yamaha 750 Maxim, she and her husband, on his Yamaha Venture, undertook some eight cross-country adventures, from northern Idaho to northern Maine, and just about all points in-between.  She was a fun and adventuresome gal whom we will all miss deeply.

       

        Per her wishes, there is no planned memorial service or funeral.  She requested her remains be scattered atop the graves of her four beloved kitty-cats and one dog on her property.  We thank all her friends for their expressions of concern and prayers as well as St. Croix Hospice, whose personnel made this difficult time for her easier.

A Memorial Tree was planted for Sally
We are deeply sorry for your loss ~ the staff at Cremation Society Of Minnesota | Brooklyn Park