Edith Proctor Young
Nov. 12, 1923 – Jan. 14, 2021

Edith Young, 97, a resident of La Crescenta for 64 years, passed away in her sleep on Jan. 14.

Edith Proctor Young, “Deeds,” was born in Buffalo, New York on Nov. 12, 1923. The daughter of Margia Wilner Proctor and Carlton Christian Proctor, she grew up in rural Williamsville. Her lifelong love of adventure was nourished by her childhood gang, the Treasure 8 – friends with whom she went hiking and biking and exploring the world.

An excellent student and pianist, she finished high school early to attend Vassar College, graduating in 1944 with a degree in history focused on Elizabethan England. She was both an educator and a lifelong student. She began her teaching career at the Dana Hall School in Boston, earning her Master of Education degree at Boston University in 1946. Afterwards, she taught at Champlain College in Plattsburg, New York where she met her late husband, Irwin Young. Edith and Irwin moved to Los Angeles in 1948, where Edith served as a high school teacher and counselor in the Los Angeles Unified School District for 40 years.

Intellectual curiosity was a hallmark of Edith’s career and life. History, art, China, geology, stamp collecting, science, music, literature, the natural world and politics were just some of the subjects that she studied, clipping and sharing articles from The New York Times to send to her children and grandchildren and making notes about books she was reading right up until the day she died.

Edith was an early and active member of the Unitarian Fellowship of the Foothills, committed to social service and the quest for human understanding. She shared a love of music with Irwin and also met her late-life partner Jerry Reynolds over a discussion about opera.

Edith traveled widely in the United States, throughout Europe, and in China. She was a thoughtful writer of teaching materials, opinion pieces, poetry and letters and co-founded a business, Lifetimes Associates, to write biographies for people in their own voices. An avid gardener herself, she published The Gardener’s Journal to help home enthusiasts keep track of the planting and pruning of their gardens through the seasons. Always a political activist, Edith marched during the civil rights movement, protested the Vietnam War, was on a first-name basis with her state and local representatives and registered voters when she was over 90.

She loved her family and friends, her home, her garden and her community. Beloved mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, she is survived by her children and their spouses: Jenny Elizabeth Young (Donald Corner) of Eugene, Oregon and Jesse Carlton Young (Joan Kenegos) of Los Angeles; four grandchildren: Margia, James, Walker and William; and one great-grandchild Hayes.

A memorial service will be held once families can gather again. In lieu of flowers, donations in her honor may be given to the Unitarian Universalist Church of Verdugo Hills, The Cañada Crescenta Democratic Club, The Sierra Club or any charity of choice.