William Anthony Young

Dr. William Anthony Young passed away in Fargo, ND on November 5, 2015 surrounded by his loving family. William was born in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, on April 6, 1957 to Kenneth and Marilyn (Wekwejt) Young of Nekoosa, Wisconsin. He was raised in Nekoosa and Adams-Friendship, Wisconsin and graduated from Adams-Friendship High School in 1975. William enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1975 and served in the military for 22 years as an administrative specialist and historian. He retired at the rank of Senior Master Sergeant in 1997. As an Air Force historian, William was a three-time recipient of the Air Force Historian of the Year Award and recipient of the Air Force History Program of the Year Award. He wrote forty-two volumes of Air Force history, two monographs, and many special studies. His military assignments included Lackland AFB, Texas; Keesler AFB, Mississippi; Chanute AFB, Illinois; Scott AFB, Illinois; and Grand Forks AFB, North Dakota. His overseas assignments included Neubrucke AI, Germany; RAF Sculthorpe, England; RAF Alconbury, England; Soesterberg AB, The Netherlands; and Riyadh AB, Saudi Arabia. On February 14, 1980, William married Patricia Groves in Friendship, Wisconsin. He met her in England, and she immigrated to the United States to marry him. They lived in Shiloh, Illinois (1980-81), Huntingdon, England (1981-87), Soesterberg, The Netherlands (1987-90), and settled in Grand Forks in 1990. William graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland-European Division in 1982. He received his Master's degree in International Relations from the University of Southern California-United Kingdom Program at Cambridge in 1985. William went on to earn a Bachelor's degree in History from the University of the State of New York in 1990, a second Master's degree (1993) and Doctoral degree (2000) in History from the University of North Dakota. After retiring from the Air Force, William served as the Associate Director of International Programs, and taught courses for the Department of History and the Office of Extended Learning at the University of North Dakota until his retirement in 2014. William was the author of three academic studies on European history, including International Politics and Warfare in the Age of Louis XIV and Peter the Great; German Diplomatic Relations 1871-1945; and European War and Diplomacy, 1337-1815. William was an avid fan of ice hockey following the University of North Dakota, Fighting Sioux. He was also a devoted fan of the Green Bay Packers. His hobbies included collecting and reading books. He is survived by his mother Marilyn Young; spouse Patricia Young of Grand Forks; son Mark Young, daughter-in-law Kari (Baker) Young, and grandchildren Collin and Emma Young of Grand Forks; son William Young Jr., daughter-in-law Sarah (Ebertowski) Young, and grandchildren Hannah and Braden Young of East Grand Forks, Minnesota; son Geoffrey Young of Fisher, Minnesota; daughter Heather (Young) Keppler and son-in-law Nicholas Keppler of Wheaton, Minnesota; sisters Joni Young of Nekoosa, Wisconsin; Jami (Dennis) Komatz of Friendship, Wisconsin; Mary (Mark) Schepp of Columbus, Wisconsin; and great friends Martin Skotzke of Oregon, Wisconsin, and Mark Massen of San Diego, California. He was preceded in death by his father, Kenneth Young of Nekoosa, Wisconsin Celebration of Life Service: 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, November 10, 2015 in the Amundson Funeral Home 2975 S. 42nd St. Grand Forks, ND. Visitation: Tuesday from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. Inurnment: (At a later date) Memorial Park North Cemetery, Grand Forks, ND. A guestbook may be signed or viewed at www.amundsonfuneralhome.com