Carol Young, 88, of Murrieta, CA passed away peacefully on the morning of September 11 in the City of Riverside, Ca.
She was a daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother and proud U.S. Marine mom.
Born Carol Ann Edelmann in Detroit, Michigan, she attended Von Steuben Elementary School, rode horses on Belle Isle and ice skated in Winter. Her family, including Grandparents, Aunts & Uncles all moved to Santa Monica, CA in 1945 for post-war employment where she attended John Adams Jr, High and graduated from Santa Monica High (Samohi) in 1956.
She married in 1960 in Santa Monica then in ’67 moved to Reseda, CA to raise two sons then retired to Murrieta, CA in 1992.
As a teenager, she learned to work on the family car as well as train and shoe horses at the local stables.
She enjoyed working with her hands on home projects including gardening, painting, and, in later life, even built a large stained-glass window for her dining room.
Learning to work with hand tools, including wire strippers and soldering irons, helped her to eventually secure employment with Packard Bell Electronics in LA and other Electronics firms in the West LA area during the ’50s & ’60s.
She excelled at a variety of sports, including – yoyo, roller & ice skating, ping pong, darts, archery, volleyball,
fast-pitch softball, synchronized swimming, riding horses in barrel racing, show jumping and calf roping and in 1956 she began what would become her life-long passion for league and tournament bowling until 2020.
She also joined the Professional Women’s Bowling Association (PWBA) in the early seventies.
In 1957, Carol first met her husband, a Korean War vet, while bowling in the Packard Bell league night in Santa Monica, CA They enjoyed riding horses on the beach, games on the pier, movies at the Aero, and friendly competition on league night. On one of their early dates, they listened to the “beep beep” of Sputnik 1 as it passed over the US in October that same year and soon after that their pet-name for one another became “Sputnik”. This event also inspired her to give serious thought
to a future career in the field of electronics.
Additional inspiration came from her favorite uncle, Bill Goff, who was at this time “Chief Engineer at Flight Test” for North American Aviation in Los Angels and regaled the family with stories of heroic test pilots. She became fascinated with aviation and space flight and was particularly inspired by reading articles of famous aviatrix Jacqueline Cochran who was also setting speed and altitude records during this time.
The 1970s & ’80s brought new challenges and opportunities when she acquired employment with one of the big aerospace companies – (Hughes Aircraft – Missile Systems Division in Canoga Park, CA).
This is where she achieved her highest career accomplishment when she became the first female in that company’s history to be promoted to the engineering department. Her assignments on missile guidance systems led her
to a breakthrough idea earning her that promotion. Part of the assignment included installing missile-tracking
data-recorders on the chase aircraft while under armed guard. She had finally achieved the career success she dreamed of
– working on solutions to problems as a Team Leader in the field of electronics. (note; you can see those missiles in the movie TOP GUN 1986 as being launched from F-14 Tomcats)
She began working in 1952 at the age of 14 at Henshey’s Dept store, then Security-First National Bank then settled in the field of electronics. She retired in 1990.
Throughout her life, Carol loved spending time with family & friends. Activities included picnics at the beach, airshows, car shows, baseball games, horse racing & polo, annual block parties, amusement parks, swimming, bowling, dogs, trail riding, BBQs, fireworks on the 4th – she was very patriotic, baking, crossword & jigsaw puzzles, playing Pinochle, listening to the music of Roy Rogers, Doris Day, Ray Conniff, Sammy Davis Jr., Sinatra and Dionne Warwick.
Her “Golden Years” were filled with joy and happiness from the simple things like cooking her favorite Sunday meals, gardening, playing card games, taking walks & sunset drives, learning to use the internet, reconnecting with old friends and classmates, visits with family, going to the movies with her grand kids during their summer vacation sleepovers, and of course bowling: – in two weekly leagues and monthly tournaments as a resident of Murrieta, CA for over 30 years.
She is preceded in death by sister Doris Keith Smith, husband John L Young, mother Mildred and father Irvin. Carol is survived by two sons – John L Young Jr. of Bullhead City, AZ, and Kenneth A Young of Murrieta, CA, four grandchildren, and five great grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers please consider donations to these organizations in Carol’s name. BOYS TOWN NATIONAL RESEARCH HOSPITAL
AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION
DAV – DISABLED AMERICAN VETERANS
Funeral arrangements are being handled by Murrieta Valley Funeral Home.
