David R. Young

David R. Young was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on June 9, 1939, and raised in Concordia, Kansas. He passed away suddenly at his home in Omaha, Nebraska, on April 7, 2020, with his wife Jeannette at his side.

Dave was a high school band director for fifty-one years. He was a graduate of the College of Emporia (1962) and earned his Master’s degree at Wichita State University (1966). He served as band director at Cottonwood Falls High School, Kansas (1962-1964); Sedgwick High School, Kansas (1964-1968); Schuyler Central High School, Nebraska (1968-1977); Bellevue East High School, Nebraska (1977-1997, 1999); Lincoln Southeast High School, Nebraska (2001-2014, part time); Bellevue University (1980-1992, adjunct); Railmen Drum & Bugle Corps (1989-1993); College View Academy in Lincoln (2004-2010); and Nebraska Wesleyan University (2008-2014, adjunct). He retired three times, going back twice because he loved working with students so much.

The marching bands, concert bands, and jazz bands that he taught excelled in competitive performance, consistently achieving top rankings and winning countless awards. The Bellevue East Marching Chieftains performed at the 1986 re-dedication of the Statue of Liberty in New York City, the Portland Rose Parade, Walt Disney World in Florida, the Red River Exhibition in Winnipeg, Canada, and many other places.

He was very active in many professional music associations, notably the Nebraska State Bandmasters Association (NSBA), the Nebraska Music Education Association (NMEA), Phi Beta Mu Music Fraternity and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Music Fraternity. Over the course of his decades of involvement with NSBA, he served as president, secretary, marching band chair, and webmaster. He helped develop the Nebraska State Marching Contest and remained involved with it for many years. He received numerous awards and honors for his work, including the Duane E. Johnson Distinguished Service Award, the Donald A. Lentz Outstanding Bandmaster Award, the Nebraska Music Education Association Hall of Fame, the College of Emporia Lifetime Achievement Award, Bellevue East High School Teacher of the Year (1982), the Bellevue Leader Man of the Year (1989), and many others.

Besides music, he enjoyed model railroading and woodworking. Following his retirement in 2014, he had been working toward the goal of turning his basement into a miniature railroad wonderland.

He was preceded in death by his son Michael Young and his parents David A. and Dottie Young. He is survived by his wife Jeannette Young, daughter Kristi (Paul) Richling, step-daughter Angela Kroeger, grandsons Zachary and Tyler Richling, brother Bill (Joyce) Young, sister Carol (Charlie) Godbold, and many nieces and nephews.

A Celebration of Life service will be held April 9, 2022 at Hope Presbyterian Church in Millard at 11:00 am. The service will be live streamed and recorded. Visitation will begin at 9:00 am, and lunch will be served following the service.

The service will be live streamed from the Hope Presbyterian website (hpcomaha.org). You can either go to the website, click on “Worship” and then “Watch Live” or go to hpcomaha.org/watch-live/

The service will be saved to Hope Presbyterian’s YouTube channel.  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbbNvo8lDyhZiWDcpDGdQmQ