Barbara Lee (McReynolds) Young

Barbara Lee McReynolds Young was born February 21, 1933, in Whittier, California, the only child of Edwin Wesley McReynolds and Gladys Harrisene Baillie. Barbara peacefully crossed the veil on July 6, 2020, with her husband and two of their six children holding her hands as they stood next to her bed.

Barbara graduated from Montebello High School in 1951. She then went to work at Sears Roebuck in Los Angeles, and she worked there until she married David Young in December of 1953. For those of you doing the math, I’ll save you the trouble: that is 66 years, 6 months, and 15 days. Although if you were to ask David today, he would tell you that their marriage is still going strong.

Barbara had a beautiful singing voice and was the lead singer in an all-girls band. She would often say that marrying David actually saved her life. That’s because the band had scheduled a gig in Yosemite, California, the same week that she was married, and she had always ridden in the front seat of the car driven by the band director. There was an accident coming home from Yosemite, and the director was killed. Barbara was sure that had she been in the car, she would have also lost her life.

Barbara was able to join her husband David, who was in the army serving in Germany, and they had the good fortune to be able to travel much of Europe. It certainly helped that gasoline was only 9 cents a gallon, and staying in a hotel cost 50 cents per night.

Barbara loved to cook, read, knit, crochet, travel, and of course, sing. She won numerous awards for her singing, both as a soloist and with others. She was a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, serving as Relief Society president, Primary president, and in various other positions. She and her husband, David, served three full-time missions. Together they traveled to many places in the world, and she often said that she never dreamed she would be able to visit so many places or to see all the sights she had seen.

Barbara is survived by her husband David, 6 children, 28 grandchildren, and 39 (almost 40) great-grandchildren.

Graveside services will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, July 10, 2020 at the Utah Veterans Memorial Park & Cemetery.