Russell "Russ" D. Young

Russell “Russ” Young, 63, of Berrien Springs, passed away unexpectedly on Feb. 17, 2018.

He was born Nov. 16, 1954 in Lewistown, Mont., to the late Floyd and Patricia (Crane) Young of Washington state. He graduated high school at Auburn Adventist Academy in 1973. He married the love of his life, Suzanne “Sue” (Hiebert) Young in 1980 and became involved with evangelism/pastoring in Washington state region shortly after. He later attended Andrews University, pursuing a degree in Theology. In 1983 he started his car repair business, Russell’s Foreign Car Repair Inc., as a way to pay for school. However, the business quickly took off, prompting him to focus on building the business and being a witness to those he came in contact with.

In his spare time, Russ greatly enjoyed going on various short-term mission trips to Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Nepal, Brazil, Peru, and Bangladesh. He had a passion for outreach and always strived to get young people involved with mission service. He was also an avid car lover and served as a team mechanic at Portland International Raceway in the mid-70s. More recently he could be found attending various car shows and faithfully keeping up with auto racing.

He was an active member of the Stevensville SDA church for 37 years, serving as a greeter, potluck host, mission board member, and elder. He was known by family and friends as a kind, outgoing, hardworking husband, father and friend. Along with becoming a successful businessman, he was an active member of the community and made it his mission to turn all strangers into friends.

Russ is survived by his wife, Sue; son, Andrew Young; three daughters: Kaitlin, Hannah, and Jessica Young; sister, Renee (Young) Pinette; step-mother, Maxine Young; step-sister, Krista Castner; step-brothers: Trent Castner, Corey Castner, Jason Castner, John Hood; and eight nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Floyd and Patricia (Crane) Young; and step-fathers, Gordan Hood and Erwin “Ed” Hansen.

Russell deeply loved his family, friends, and God and often looked forward to spending quality time with those he loved.

A Celebration of Life service will be held at 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24, at the Village SDA Church in Berrien Springs, with Pastor Brian Hamilton officiating. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Bangla Hope Children’s Home at banglahope.org or PO Box 6853, Kennewick, WA 99336. Those who wish to leave an online condolence may do so at www.allredfuneralhome.com.