Alma Jay Young's Obituary
Our loving husband, father, grandfather, son, brother and friend passed away peacefully at his home on November 21, 2013, surrounded by his loved ones. Alma Jay Young was born in Fairview, Utah on February 25, 1938. He is the eighth child of Alice Dorthea and Jesse Leroy Young. His happy childhood was spent growing up with his loving family in Provo, Utah with his brothers and sisters, Wilford Young, Ruth Baum, Dorothy Folk, Melvin Young, Lavon Richards, Donna Tanner, Carma Bowen, Ludean Hutchison, being preceded in death by his sister Mary Blackburn.
Jay attended Maeser Elementary School, Farrer Junior High School, and graduated from Provo High School in 1957. After high school, he served in the Army National Guard from 1960 to 1965, where he received an honorable discharge. On June 2, 1962, he married Kathleen Farrell and they became proud parents of Kelly and Gina. They later divorced in 1967. Upon completing his military service, he became employed with Mountain States Steel and Geneva Steel from 1965 until his retirement in 1998.
Jay was a man of many talents, but he is most notably known as an artist and musician. As a young boy he learned to express his feelings through art and music. Painting became a satisfying way of life for him as he spent hours in his studio working on an exhibit, a commissioned painting or teaching in the studio he built. Our fondest memory is when he would invite all of us children into his studio to paint or draw with him. He showed so much patience as he tried to teach us. It was amazing to see how one stroke of the paint brush on the canvas would become a beautiful painting. He expressed that art gave him a sense of peace, contentment and of well being. He furthered his art education by taking courses at Brigham Young University and Utah Valley State College in illustration, architectural rendering, photography and drafting. Throughout his art career he exhibited in many galleries, and also served as a member of the Utah Valley Watercolor Society and Provo Art Board. As a young boy his family cultivated his love of music. He performed in chamber groups and orchestras during his school years and would perform at church, social events and weddings with his family. As he would play his viola to records, he felt as if he was playing with the great symphonies of the world. Throughout the years he performed with Utah Valley Old Time Fiddlers, West Valley Symphony, American Fork Symphony, Pleasant Grove Pops Orchestra, Salt Lake String Quartet, Utah Valley Civic Symphony, Utah Valley Symphony Orchestra and Viola D' Amore International. He was also a member of the Violin Society of America and Southern California Association of Violin Makers. He enjoyed repairing string instruments, and received requests to build custom commissioned instruments within the United States and Europe. To show his sense of humor, he built a trick violin that would fall apart as someone began to play it. This startled the person, but brought lots of laughs. He felt the friendships he had with other artists and musicians was a blessing, and he would always try to learn as much as he could from his colleagues.
On June 4, 1976 he married Glenda Talbot Wulfenstein, uniting our two families together and becoming a father to Bevan, Janeth, Stanley, Gary and Richard. Most may have thought that it was a too great a responsibility to take on more children after being a single father, yet he met the challenge, and together as a family we created wonderful memories together. Because of his love for the natural beauty of Utah, we would take trips in the mountains camping, fishing, hiking, inner tubing and riding ATV's. You would also find him taking photographs, sketching or painting in nature. As our family continued to grow he would enjoy creating the same wonderful memories with his grand children and great-grand children. He found joy and happiness in his family life and with his quiet and gentle ways, provided unity, care and love in our home.
Together, with his beloved wife they served five missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Their first mission was serving the people of Cebu, Philippines from 1999 to 2001. They then served two consecutive missions in the Provo LDS Employment Center for three years, the Utah Provo Mission Office for eighteen months, and the Orem Family History Center for one year. After each mission had been completed, our family would anticipate a phone call letting us know where they would serve next. Even though they were unable to serve another mission, in our minds they never stopped being missionaries. Our parents felt that service was important and our family was the benefactors of many blessing because of their willingness to serve.
Jay was a remarkable and wonderful man who loved his family, his friends and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Our family is grateful for his legacy of love service and faithfulness. With the remaining time he had left, he spent his time expressing his love and appreciation for those around him. Even in the face of dealing with cancer, he seemed to always be the one to uplift those who reached out to comfort him. He never lost his sense of humor, continued living in faith and expressed gratitude each day for the many blessings he received.
Left to cherish his memory are his wife Glenda Young, and his children; Bevan Wulfenstein (Patricia), Janeth Jensen (Ronald), Stanley Wulfenstein (Neisa), Kelly Workman (Stan), Gary Wulfenstein (Kristi), Gina Welch (Will), Richard Wulfenstein (Natashia); 28 grand children and 29 great-grand children.
He shared these words of wisdom with us always, and these are words he lived by. "The three most important principles I live by are first; seek forgiveness for oneself, second; extend forgiveness to others, and third; always love and serve one another." The family wishes to express our gratitude for the outpouring of love and support we have received from so many. We have been strengthened by many answered prayers and small acts of kindness. We would like to also express special thanks to Encompass Hospice, especially Nancy, for their compassion and care.
Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, November 27 at 11:00 a.m. at the Orem Windsor Stake Center. Located at 60 East 1600 North Orem, Utah, followed by interment at the Provo City Cemetery. The funeral will be preceded with viewings at the church on Tuesday, November 26 from 6-8pm and Wednesday, November 27th from 10-11:00am.
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