Freddy Richard Young

The man so many people thought just might live forever – a man who survived lightning strikes, war, and Chicago street gangs – said goodbye to this world on April 24, 2026, at 10:47 p.m. Freddy Richard Young, 89, passed peacefully surrounded by the people he loved and who loved him the most after a short battle with heart failure. Don’t worry – he still went to hockey games and gymnastics meets with his family, got into intense pool games with his grandson, occasionally enjoyed a glass of two-buck Chuck, and smoked a cigar a day (half in the morning, half at night despite the tsk-tsking of his kids and doctors) while his pup, Gertie, sat on his lap.

Born Jan. 6, 1937, in Jonesboro, Illinois, to Amy Elizabeth Mayse and Ivory Loren Young, Rich went by many names: Freddy, Frosty, Flitz (a nickname he later adopted for his eldest son). He was the youngest of Amy and Ivory’s four sons – behind Forest, Donald and Harold – and was just seven months old when his father died trying to beat a train at the crossing. His mother remarried Alfred Carhart the following year, adding a fifth brother, Charles, to the mix. Amy and Al raised the boys on a 40-acre farm outside Jonesboro – no running water, no electricity, a one-hole privy 30 yards from the back door. When Al died in 1945, Amy was alone at age 30 with five boys. She did what she’d always done: made it work. And she did not mess around. When young Freddy was caught swiping a lemon meringue pie she’d left cooling on the windowsill, she made him eat every last crumb of the three pies she had baked. He was sick for days and never touched a lemon treat again.

Rich was never one for the conventional path. A blown-out knee sophomore of high school year ended his football season and, eventually, his interest in school. By 14, he had dropped out. At 15, his buddy Jerry Batson picked him up in his father’s stolen police cruiser for a joyride that ended with the car rolling five times down an embankment. Rich walked out of the hospital three days later. (He kept the $15 bill sent to his mother from the Anna County Hospital, which noted it “was presented to Mr. Earl Batson, who says he is not responsible for it.”) Later that year, Rich followed Jerry to Chicago, where he ended up running with a street gang under South Side bridges before talking his way into a job at The Chicago Tribune selling newspapers on street corners.

Back in Jonesboro, Rich kept finding low-stakes trouble – enough that the local judge finally got sick of seeing him and reportedly said, “Boy, I’m giving you two options: jail or the military.” So, on his 17th birthday, into the U.S. Air Force he went.

It turned out to be the best decision of his life. Rich’s Air Force career spanned 25 years and three months, carrying him to Texas, Alaska, Arizona, Southeast Asia, Michigan, Colorado, Florida, California, Japan and Utah. He served in a top-secret nuclear missile program, installed radar across five countries, traded Army surplus jeeps for plywood to build a parade vehicle for a three-star general, and worked as a contractor for NASA aiding in the launch of the United States’ first space station as well as the Enterprise shuttle. Along the way, he earned his GED, then spent six and a half years taking one college course at a time until he graduated from Rollins College with a bachelor’s degree in business and later earned a master’s from Central Michigan University. He rose from an airman with no stripes to master sergeant, became an officer in 1969, and retired as a captain.

Rich married Bonnie Maureen Forester on April 7, 1955. He was 18, she was 17. Together they had two sons, Fred James and Daniel Wayne. Though they later divorced, Rich and Bonnie remained friends until her death in 2015. In 1974, Rich met Tillie Ann Chapa, whom he married in 1979. He retired from the Air Force that year, too, and Tillie says he refused to take orders from her despite her own Air Force rank as major. Together they had two children, Marcie Ann and Sean Richard, and built a life in Utah, living near Fred. Rich and Tillie celebrated their 47th wedding anniversary in March and held hands through his last breaths.

The greatest sorrow of Rich’s life came in 1983, when his son Daniel was killed in a motorcycle accident at the age of 23. Rich carried Dan with him every day after that.

Raised Southern Baptist, Rich was spiritual but never particularly religious. After meeting Tillie, a devout Catholic, he began reading the Bible on his own, attended Mass to be with his family, and later went through the RCIA program, receiving baptism, communion and confirmation. Rich was a longtime member of the Sugar House Rotary and loved his years working with The Dictionary Project, delivering thousands with Tillie to elementary students across the state.

Rich was proud, resourceful, stubborn, and funny – a man who went from a one-room schoolhouse to a military captain with college degrees, and a family who adored him. One of his favorite phrases always got a chuckle: “I’ll always be Rich, and I’ll always be Young.”

Rich is survived by his wife, Tillie; his sons Fred and Sean (Meaghan); his daughter Marcie (Alex); his grandchildren Leo and Piper, who were the light of his life. He was preceded in death by his parents Amy and Ivory and stepfather Al; his sister, Bonnie Lou, who died in infancy; his brothers Forest, Harold, Donald and Charles; his son, Daniel; and his former wife, Bonnie.

A celebration of life will be held Wednesday, April 29, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Starks Funeral Parlor in Millcreek (3651 S. 900 East). Graveside services will be held at Mt. Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Salt Lake City (275 U Street) on Thursday, April 30, at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Sugar House Rotary at sugarhouserotaryclub.com.