Jacob Hosea Young, Jr.

Jacob Hosea Young, Jr., 84, known to many as “Pastor Jake,” of Decatur, died Thursday, January 7, 2010, at his residence.

He was born August 14, 1925 in Charlotte, N.C., the son of the late Jacob and Geneva Young.  He attended public schools in Charlotte, graduating high school in 1943.  Pastor Young graduated from Lenoir Rhyne College in Hickory, N.C. in 1947, and the Lutheran Southern Theological Seminary in Columbia, S.C., in 1950, with a Bachelors of Divinity degree.  He was ordained as a Pastor in the Lutheran Church in 1950, and served as Pastor to Lutheran churches in Hickory, N.C., Granite Falls, N.C., Kure Beach, N.C., Bland County, VA, Martinsville, VA, and Blacksburg, VA.  He also served as the Chaplain at the United States Air Force Base at Fort Fisher, N.C., and continued preaching even after his retirement to a congregation in Lumberton, N.C.  Pastor Jake also served as a substitute Pastor at the Lutheran Church of the Messiah, in Decatur, and was very active in Sunday Vesper services at Clairmont Oaks, also in Decatur.

Pastor Jake was loved by all, and had an uncanny ability to remember names of the people he met every day.  He played basketball for Lenoir Rhyne College and was an avid fan of the Atlanta Braves, the Atlanta Hawks, and the Davidson College Wildcats.  Pastor Young was also the world’s biggest fan of jazz, especially the big band jazz of Basie, Ellington, Harry James, Ella Fitzgerald, and Louie Armstrong.  He loved to laugh, and loved to tell jokes as much as possible to brighten the day of anyone and everyone around him.

Pastor Young is survived by his son, David S. Young, of Decatur; a daughter-in-law, Betty Clarke Young; two grandsons, Michael S. Young, and Tyler J. Young, both of Decatur.  He is also survived by his step-children from the love of his live, the late Barbara Spital Young:  William Spital, Debra Purvis, and Ann Bell; two step-grandchildren, and one step great granddaughter.  He was pre-deceased by his sister, Alice Young Wessinger, and also had two nieces and one nephew.

In lieu of flowers, donations should be made to either the Atlanta Hawks Foundation, 101 Marietta Street, Suite 1900, Atlanta, GA  30303, or, the Atlanta Braves Foundation, 755 Hank Aaron Drive, Atlanta, GA  30315.