Robert "Bob" George Young

Robert (“Bob”) George Young, born October 31, 1942, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, passed away peacefully on March 18, 2026. He spent the vast majority of his life in the Pittsburgh area and, from 1983 to 2024, made his home in Mt. Lebanon, where he and his beloved wife, Ellen, raised their daughter, Eliza. In 2024, he and Ellen moved to Corvallis, where Eliza teaches at Oregon State University. Bob and Ellen met during freshman orientation at Penn State University, beginning a partnership that would span 61 years of marriage. Bob earned his undergraduate degree in business from Penn State, followed by a law degree from Duquesne University and a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in taxation from Georgetown University. Along the way, he also became a Certified Public Accountant. During his time at Penn State, Bob participated in ROTC and went on to serve in the United States Army until 1966 as an Infantry Unit Commander. He spent a year in South Korea, where he and his unit guarded the demilitarized zone. For the remainder of his life, Bob continued to be very proud of his military service. Bob’s professional life reflected both his intellectual curiosity and his independent spirit. While he spent many years helping people navigate complex tax matters, he also took memorable detours: dealing in 18th- and 19th-century antiques from western Pennsylvania and the Midwest, and later working as an over-the-road truck driver, exploring the country from behind the wheel of a semitruck. Eliza always wished he had written a book about those years, certain he had stories worth telling. He found joy in many things: large vehicles, old furniture, solving tax problems, and especially the animals who shared his life over the years. He was devoted to his many cats and dogs, loved traditional bluegrass music (with a firm skepticism of any modern departures), and read The Wall Street Journal faithfully. He also delighted in spiritedly teasing Ellen and Eliza about their liberal politics and in helping Ellen dig countless holes for her ever-evolving gardening projects. Bob could also be relied upon to help family members with long drives, and many of Eliza’s fondest memories of her father involve drives to antique shows, Massachusetts (for Eliza’s grad school), and across the country (for the move to Oregon). And in Ellen’s family, people joked that when Ellen and Bob were in college, a blizzard always guaranteed that Bob would drive from the South Hills of Pittsburgh to the North Hills of Pittsburgh (where Ellen’s family lived) to demonstrate both his dedication and his prowess as a driver. Bob was well known in his Mt. Lebanon neighborhood for mowing the lawn in khaki pants and a button-down shirt—a habit that brought consistent amusement to his neighbors on Shadowlawn Avenue. When Eliza was asked to bring in comfortable clothes when her dad was in rehab, she explained that he didn’t really own that kind of thing. Bob also had a profoundly dry sense of humor that amused many people and confused some poor souls. In reading condolence messages, Eliza found that a lot of people fondly remembered this unique sense of humor. Bob was proud of his ancestors’ hard work as coal miners—work that brought them from England and Scotland to western Pennsylvania—and made sure that Eliza was understood and appreciated that her grandparents had grown up in mining villages outside of Pittsburgh. His parents, Robert Young and Margaret (Peg) Young (born Britton) raised Bob and his younger brothers Tom and Jim in the Pittsburgh suburb of Scott Township, PA. As a father, Bob was deeply supportive and full of ambition for his daughter. When he learned in 1978 that he was having a daughter, he remarked that it was a wonderful time to grow up as a female, as she would be able to do anything she wanted. He encouraged her wide-ranging interests—even if his gift of a toy U-Haul truck was repurposed into a dining table for stuffed animals. Later, he offered her a carefully curated list of potential law schools, though she ultimately chose a different path and earned a Ph.D. Bob was also very devoted to his granddaughter, Meg and enjoyed attending her choir concerts, seeing her climbing competitions, and hearing about her work as the electrical captain of her robotics team. When she was younger, he also found joy in supporting her great enthusiasm for trains and train sets (which she did not cover with cloths to turn into dining room tables). Even near the end of his life, Bob’s love for his daughter remained clear. In October 2025, when discussing hospice care, he said he wanted to stay alive until Eliza finished her Ph.D.—a goal she gently reminded him she had achieved in 2010, a moment that captured both his devotion and the challenges of his final months. Similarly, as he was getting a bit forgetful, Bob repeatedly asked Eliza where Meg would be going to college, and each time she answered Smith College, he was both delighted and visibly filled with awe. In his final hours, Eliza read him The Christmas Day Kitten by James Herriot—a story he had lovingly read to his cats each Christmas Eve, a tradition she will continue in his honor. Bob passed away peacefully, with Ellen, Eliza, and his devoted cat Gracie by his side. The family is deeply grateful to the staff of Stoneybrook Senior Living and Lumina Hospice for their compassionate care. Bob is survived by his wife, Ellen; his daughter, Eliza; his granddaughter, Meg; and his brother Jim. He is predeceased by his parents and his brother Tom. In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations be made to Heartland Humane Society in Corvallis, Oregon: https://www.heartlandhumane.org/donate (or 541-757-9000).

Robert "Bob" George Young

October 31, 1942 - March 18, 2026