John Young, former Chamber president, dies after battle with
cancer
Gilroy – John Anthony Young, a former Gilroy Foods director and president of the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce, died this weekend after a two year battle with cancer.
Young, 74, was widely regarded as a natural leader, a large and kind-hearted man with a sharp wit who didn’t let ego get in the way of relationships, whether business or personal.
“John was a very strong individual who was very compassionate and very down-to-earth,” said Bob Kraemer, who worked at Gilroy Foods in the ’80s and early ’90s, when Young served as director of operations at the Pacheco Pass plant. “His management style was MBWA – management by walking around. He was not a desk person … His job was to be out and about, seeing and sensing if things were running well.”
A Canadian by birth, Young moved to the state of Washington in 1969 so he could manage a group of food processing plants. He eventually moved to Gilroy in 1980 so he could take a top post for McCormick & Company at Gilroy Foods.
Young was as much a leader in the community as he was in his industry. He served as president of the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce from 1987-1988, volunteered for the Garlic Festival, and played an active role in the Gilroy Rotary Club.
In recent years, he was among a group of Rotarians who stopped by Glen View Elementary School on Wednesday mornings to help kids improve their reading. The image of 6-foot, 6-inch Young seated beside the children was a source of good-humored jokes among kids and adults.
“He was this big gentle man working with these little students,” fellow Rotarian Jane Howard said. “He was so good to them and they loved working with him. I know the kids are going to miss him too.”
Young died peacefully at his home Saturday surrounded by his wife, Shirley, and daughter, Lisa.
“When the (doctors) could do no more for him, the phone never stopped ringing and the people never stopped coming,” Shirley Young said.
The outpouring of support in recent weeks included a hospice visit from the choir of Gilroy Presbyterian Church.
“They sang in the hall so he could hear them,” Young said. “It was amazing the way people have responded to hearing that he was getting close to the end. My heart is very full of love for all these people in the community who have comforted my daughter and I. We were with him at the end and we held his hand until the very end.”
A memorial service in honor of Young will take place at 3pm April 2 at Gilroy Presbyterian Church, 6000 Miller Ave. Donations in Young’s name can be made to the American Cancer Society or the Health Ministries of the Gilroy Presbyterian Church.
