Martin High School graduate Georgia Mae Young died peacefully Friday, May 3, at Traverse Manor, Traverse City. She was 96.
Georgia was born on May 12, 1927, to Julia Mae Brown Tandy and Charles Allen Tandy in Brighton. She had two younger brothers, Chuck and Gail, and a younger sister, Alice.
She had fond memories of roller skating and biking around Martin. After graduating from Martin High School, Georgia worked in the post office and met her husband, LeRoy Greeley “Babe” Young, youngest son of Hazel and Archie Young. They married on May 12,1948, at the bride’s home on her 21st birthday. They were married for 68 years.
Georgia and Babe loved gardening, taking family trips, dancing, and for decades they were members of the United Methodist Church (and later the Central United Methodist Church in Traverse City). They left Martin because of the opportunity to live closer to their grandchildren at their Duck Lake cottage near Traverse City in 1996.
All her life Georgia taught her children and grandchildren that all people should be treated with dignity regardless the clothes they wear, or the culture from which they were born.
She had a beautiful singing voice. She loved to read and was the town librarian for many years. She enjoyed drawing faces and trees, coloring, knitting, playing cards and fishing with LeRoy. She collected shells and pebbles from beaches as near as Lake Michigan, and as far away as the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans (as far away as Africa).
Georgia loved to travel to meet people on her journeys, to learn their stories. She treated others with kindness, and she laughed at life’s many absurdities.
Georgia deeply appreciated the smaller things in life: sunsets, a child’s laughter, and a butterfly swooping beyond her window view. She rejoiced in a bouquet of flowers or a dark brewed coffee.
She is survived by her three daughters Cindy (Rick) Sack, Debbie (John) Barnoski, Liz (Scott) Warren, and her son Tim (Tia Reese) Young. She had been blessed with ten grandchildren and (15)
great grandchildren.
Georgia’s life will be celebrated later this summer with her family. She and Babe will be interred at the Martin cemetery south of town.
