Neil Young

Neil Curtiss Young was born February 23, 1934 in Courtland, MN to Sheridan (Shorty) and Rose (Sperl) Young. He attended school in Sleepy Eye and Redwood Falls where he graduated in 1954. He joined the National Guard in 1952 and volunteered for active duty in 1954. He served with U.S.E.U.R. Command in Mannheim, Germany. Neil continued with the National Guard program, graduating from the Minnesota Military Academy in 1960 and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant. He served with guard units in Redwood Falls, New Ulm, Anoka, Montevideo and Mankato. After 34 years of service he retired as a Major in 1994. From 1947 until 1960 Neil and his father were members of the Sleepy Eye Drum and Bugle Corp. The Bugle Corp was very successful during these years winning 13 State Championships and 12 American Legion District contests. The Bugle Corp was a very important activity for the family and practice sessions were attended by riding the train from Redwood Falls to Sleepy Eye. On September 20, 1958, Neil was united in marriage to Carole Loose at Zion Lutheran Church in Morgan. Neil was a licensed electrician and worked for Schmidt Electric, Springfield; Wilfahrt Bros., New Ulm Electric and Alwin Electric all of New Ulm. Neil was a member of the Redwood Falls Volunteer Department from 1959 to 1961 and a member of the Springfield Volunteer Fire Department from October 1961 to March 1987. He was active in the Boy Scouts during the 1970's and served as Sunday School Superintendent at Zion Lutheran Church in Springfield. Neil was an active volunteer at the Springfield Museum as a mebmer of the BEN (Bob, Ed and Neil) GROUP doing numerous tasks at the museum. A highlight each year was conducting tours of the museum for grade school children. He was affectionately known at Grandpa Neil to neighborhood children and was a regular observer at recess activities in the Brown's Park. He enjoyed traveling, gardening, cooking and spending time with friends and family, especially his grandchildren. Neil was diagnosed with cancer in November 2002 and choose to keep silent about his illness, staying active and enjoying life. His courageous battle with the disease ended Friday, July 15, 2005. Neil is survived by his wife Carole, son David and wife Pamela (Wittwer) and grandchildren Nicholas and Megan of Northfield; sisters Julie Thomas of Redwood Falls, Janice Seime of St. Louis Park; brother Gregory and wife Mary of Redwood Falls; brother-in-law Willis and Marlene Loose of Chaska; sister-in-law Edna (Vernon) Loose, Montebello, CA; nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, sister Janet and brothers-in-law Dale Seime and Harry Thomas, Jr.