[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 47 (Friday, March 15, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E255]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              RECOGNIZING THE LIFE OF GEORGE WILLIAM YOUNG

                                 ______
                                 

                     HON. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, March 15, 2024

  Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, it is with a heavy heart that I 
recognize the remarkable life of George William Young.
  Mr. Young was third generation native of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. 
George was the second baby born at the then newly completed Broward 
General Hospital in 1938. He attended Broward County public schools and 
graduated from Fort Lauderdale High School, and he was raised in a 
family with a long history of community service. His mother, Virginia 
S. Young, served on the School Board and was Mayor of Fort Lauderdale. 
His father, George F. Young, was a general contractor, as was his 
grandfather George Waugh Young. His grandfather established George 
Young Construction in 1911 and built many structures in Fort 
Lauderdale, including the Riverside Hotel and First United Methodist 
Church.
  George was a man with many talents, but education was his calling. In 
1969, he became Vice President of Student Affairs at Broward College, a 
position to which he would dedicate the next 30 years of his career. 
During his tenure, he developed student affairs divisions on four 
campuses, watching enrollment grow from 3,000 to 6,000 students. He 
believed everyone was entitled to a college education and devoted his 
career to mentoring those who might not otherwise have had the means to 
attend college.
  After retirement, George applied the building skills his father and 
grandfather had imparted upon him, building his own home on Lower 
Matecumbe in the Florida Keys. He enjoyed his retirement there and in 
Hendersonville, North Carolina, where he spent many vacations visiting 
his grandparents as a child. His greatest joy, however, came as a 
grandfather to his three grandchildren. He spent countless hours and 
time helping to mentor his three grandchildren into thoughtful and 
community-minded human beings. He passed down many of his virtues and 
passions to them, including a love of history, Lionel train collecting, 
and fishing. His collection of vintage Lionel trains is one of the 
largest in the country, the result of a passion he developed as a 
teenager while employed as the Lionel train repairman at Hobby House in 
downtown Fort Lauderdale.
  My heart is with George's family, friends, and colleagues, but his 
loss will be felt by our entire community. His humility and kindness 
touched everyone who knew him.

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