“Joyce Young was a committed and generous community member who made significant contributions to further the work of United Way of the Greater Dayton Area,” that organization said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. “We are grateful for all she did for the Dayton region and she will be greatly missed.”
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
The local United Way recognized Young in as a legacy leader in 2012. More than 20 years earlier – four years before Young became a Washington Twp. trustee – she was inducted into the Presidents Club of Dayton’s Citizen Legion of Honor.
Established in 1951, the Citizen Legion of Honor Award “is the region’s premier volunteer recognition honoring community servant leaders for their unselfish dedication to our area and its people,” its website states.
“In Washington Township and beyond, Joyce was synonymous with community voluntarism and leadership, particularly when it came to advocating for children, seniors and individuals with disabilities,” township trustee President Sharon Lowry said in a statement.
“I will greatly miss her passion, energy, and enthusiasm for generating positive change,” she added.
Lowry and Centerville Mayor Brooks Compton both noted Young’s work as co-chair of a panel which created a 214-page comprehensive plan adopted by both the city and the township.
After becoming a Washington Twp. trustee in the 1995, Young garnered the most votes of any trustee candidate on the ballot all four times she faced re-election in this century, according to Montgomery County records. Young opted not to seek re-election in 2017.
Township Administrator Jesse Lightle said Young was one of the trustees who hired her in 2006 as deputy administrator.
“Over the years, she became a mentor and someone I deeply respected,” Lightle said in a statement. “I turned to her countless times seeking professional advice, knowing I could trust her judgment to not only be balanced and fair, but also frank and direct.”
Decades earlier, Young served as chair of the health and welfare planning council and joined the board of the United Way Greater Dayton Area when the two merged.
She was a member of the United Way board from 1975-82 and was appointed to the United Way Public Policy Committee in 1983.
Young also served on civic boards involving the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery, the Human Race, and the Montgomery County Family and Children First Council.
She was a past chair of the Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission, a state-wide agency that partners with individuals with disabilities to achieve quality employment and independence.
Young also served as: Executive director of the Wright State School of Medicine Foundation; the governor’s appointee to the Ohio Children’s Trust Fund; president of the Junior League; and a member of Rotary International.
No public services are scheduled at this time, according to Tobias Funeral Home - Far Hills Chapel, which is handling the arrangements.
JOYCE YOUNG 1934-2020
The former longtime Washington Twp. trustee served on many boards and organizations in her career, and was honored with several awards. Among them:
•BOARDS AND ORGANIZATIONS: Director emeritus, Dayton Chapter of the American Red Cross; chair, Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission; president, Miami Valley Child Development Centers; president, Health and Welfare Planning Council; United Way of the Greater Dayton Area board; Montgomery County Homeless Solutions policy board; Ohio Children’s Trust Fund board; Boonshoft Museum of Discovery board; Dayton Art Institute board.
•AWARDS: Inducted into the Presidents Club of Dayton’s Citizen Legion of Honor; United Way of the Greater Dayton Area Legacy Leader; Montgomery County Citizen of the Year; YWCA Lifetime Achievement Award and Women of Influence Award.
SOURCES: Washington Twp. and Dayton Daily News archives.
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