Frederick E. Young, 84, of Cumberland, RI, passed away peacefully Feb. 18 in just the way he wanted: at home with his wife Susan and daughter Jackie by his side.
Born July 18, 1940 in Jamestown, NY, he was the son of the late Lester and Evangeline (Flohr) Young. He graduated from Wellsville High School in1958, an era in which nicknames ruled. Fred was dubbed “Sweetness” by his large circle of friends.
After graduation, he attended the University of Miami where, legend has it, he spent more time playing pool in the student center than studying in the campus library.
He left the university after freshman year, walked into a Kinney Shoe Store in Lighthouse Point, Fla. and got a job that led to a career. He turned out to be a terrific salesman and rose to manager of Kinney stores in several Florida cities, New Orleans and Houston. He returned to the Northeast in the late 1970s, settling in Rhode Island, where he managed Hope’s, a Providence bar.
His career was interrupted when Fred was drafted in November 1963. He was discharged two years later, one week before his Army unit at Fort Benning was sent to Vietnam.
He married Susan Crossley in September,1988. They settled in the Rhode Island suburbs where Fred delighted in keeping the backyard swimming pool sparkling clean for neighborhood children and impromptu visits by his daughter’s friends who called him their “pool boy.”
Fred had a lifelong interest in professional sports, an aversion to vegetables and dentures, a fondness for maple sugar candy, and a talent for witty story-telling and poems at family gatherings.
In retirement, Fred enjoyed the camaradarie of weekly golf sessions with other older fellows. He beamed when he and a partner won top honors in four out of their last five senior tournaments.
A man of routine, he spent mornings doing crossword puzzles, sudoku, wordle, and the NYTimes spelling bee game, often earning “Genius” status. Afternoons and evenings were reserved for televised baseball, football, basketball and golf.
Nothing, however, could compete with the joy he got from sports card collecting, a hobby launched at the age of 8, suspended when he reached his teen years, and resumed in earnest in 1980. He bought and sold online and at New England card shows. His knowledge and warm personality made him a trusted figure on the circuit.
A year ago, at 83, he put his beloved collection on the auction block, raising an awesome overall take that surprised everyone except Fred. “I knew what they were worth,” he told family members.
In addition to his wife of 36 years, he leaves his daughter Jacquelyn, her fiance, Evan Duarte, his sister, Carol Young, brother-in-law Wayne Coats, niece Katharine Coats and several other nieces, great nieces, nephews and great nephews.
After a Mass of Christian burial on Feb. 27, he was buried at the Rhode Island Veterans Cemetery.
Memories can be shared at JJDuffyfuneralhome.com.
