May 6, 1930 – August 17, 2020
Allen Gale Young, 90, Sheridan, passed away on Monday morning, August 17, 2020 at Riverview Health in Noblesville. Born on May 6, 1930 in Delaware County, Ind., he was the son of the late Cloa A. “Cy” and Mary Reba (Rees) Young.
Gale’s family made the move to Sheridan during his younger years, and he graduated with the Sheridan Class of 1949. It was during those years at SHS that he met his first love, Mary Elizabeth Walker. Gale and Mary were married on September 30, 1949 and began traveling life’s journey by each other’s side. Gale and Mary celebrated their 50th Anniversary on September 30, 1999. Mary passed away on October 2, 1999.
Being somewhat of a serial entrepreneur, Gale never liked to let the grass grow under his feet. During his younger years, he worked for Foxworthy Ford and Pearson Ford. He eventually hired on with Biddle Screw Products in Sheridan; retiring from the company after 26 years of dedicated service. During those years, and for many after, Gale always had a yellow legal pad, or something to scribble on, close by at all times. He would jot down different ideas that would pop into his head, and then would revisit those ideas when he had a little bit of time to think. The ideas in his notebooks turned into quite a few successful business ventures over the years, including two different car washes, one in Sheridan and one in Arcadia, and Young’s Hayloft in Sheridan. Gale and Mary started Young’s Hayloft in 1977 and kept Sheridan stocked with beautiful flowers for over 20 years.
Some people are lucky enough to find love once in their life, even fewer are able to find it multiple times. Gale was one of those very fortunate individuals. On April 5, 2008 he married Loretta (Grimes) Hopper and spent the rest of his life by her side. The ideas in Gale’s yellow notebooks never stopped flowing, and Loretta was always ready to hop onboard with whatever he came up with next. In 2017, they started Young’s Kitchen, which was located on Main Street in Sheridan. It was a short-lived venture, but they enjoyed every moment, loving what they were doing and enjoying the fact that they could do it as a family. When you went in the restaurant you felt like you were coming home, and nobody left without at least getting a visit from either Gale, Loretta, or Rebecca.
He was a member of the Sheridan Masonic Lodge F&AM #309 and attended the Sheridan First United Methodist Church.
Gale is survived by his wife, Loretta Hopper-Young; his daughters, Nancy Day (Fred), Rochester, Linda Moore (John), Indianapolis, and Sarah Godby (Bobby), Sheridan; his son, Daniel Ray Hopper, Sheridan; 11 grandchildren, Allison (Ryan) Tusing, Dave (Julie) Day, Michelle (Chad) Stevens, Debbie (Chris) Coburn, Jake Hubbard, Dr. Shawn (Ginger) Moore, Ryan (Megan) Moore, Matt Godby, Kati (Doug) Harris, Betsy (Josh) Carter and Mark Sturdevant; 25 great-grandchildren; his sister, Melba C. Stephenson, Sheridan; nephews, Robert Dale Stephenson and Micah Carr; niece, Stephanie Oresik; great-nephew, Quentin Oresik-Mossburg; and his mother-in-law, Pamela K. Ranney, Sheridan.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his first wife, Mary E. (Walker) Young; his second wife, Marilyn Bailey-Young in September 2006; great-grandchildren, Devon Lee Day and Elizabeth Ann Day; his niece, Marsha K. Carr; brother-in-law, Bud Stephenson; and by his daughter, Rebecca Nicole Hopper in September 2017.
Graveside services will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, August 21, 2020 at Crown View Cemetery in Sheridan. Reverend Frank Ciampa will be officiating.
In lieu of flowers, Memorial Contributions may be presented to Kercheval Funeral Home, P.O. Box 42, Sheridan, IN 46069, to help the family with funeral expenses.
Condolences: kerchevalfuneralhome.com