Bradley Jetton "Brad" Young
Marriages
Colleen Lanier Young
Obituaries
Vail Daily - April 20, 2004
Bradley Jetton Young dies at his home March 31, 2004. He was 34.
The son of Kathy and Raymond Young, he was born on Sept. 22, 1969, in Fort Worth, Tex. and his family moved to Vail in 1972.
Young graduated from Vail Mountain School in 1988, and went on to finish studies at the College of Culinary Arts at Johnson and Wales University in 1994. Following graduation, Young worked for the late Walter Moritz at Restaurant LaTour of Vail, and continued his culinary career in Boulder.
Friends said Young enjoyed cooking, skiing and most of all racing remote control cars with his 6 year old son Stefan.
He is survived by his son Stefan Young of Superior, his brother Raymond Young, Jr., of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., his grandmother Irene Young of Fort Worth, Tex., and his former wife Colleen Lanier Young of Superior.
A memorial service will be held in Vail. No date or time has yet ben determined.
Contributions can be made t the Future Scholar Program fo the benefit of Stefan J. Young, Bank of America, 1903 East Battlefield, Springfield, MO 65804.
Vail Trail - April 29, 2004
by Tom Boyd
It is a grim milestone: Vail Mountain School has lost its first graduate due to an untimely death. We have lost Brad Young, who passed away March 31 in his home at the age of 34.
It is probably the most difficult part of this job to receive news of deaths over e-mail, via fax, on the phone, or in person. I cringe each time an obituary comes, wondering who it may be and ruminating on the grief that fills the lives of loved ones and family -- and knowing there are times when a portion of that grief, inevitably, comes my way. In spite of this, reporters must tell the community what we know: that Bradley is survived by his 6-year-old son, Stefan, his brother Raymond Young Jr., his grandmother Irene Young and his former wife Colleen Lanier Young. We must report that Brad is the son of Kathy and Raymond Young, who died when Brad and Raymond Jr. were still youths, and that he and his family came to Vail in 1972, where Brad went to the Mountain School through 1988 (graduating in the same class as my brother, Steve) before going on to study at the College of Culinary Arts at Johnson and Whales University,
And that is how they teach us to write an obituary.
But there is more. There is always more, and it is too much to tell in one small story.
Brad worked closely with the late, great Walter Moritz at Restaurant LaTour of Vail, and like many people from the early days (myself included) he found a surrogate mother in Marie Claire Moritz. And she and I had time to talk about Brad, about the way things werfe back in the early days of the town and the mountain School, and of all the things she knew of Brad, who also graduated in the same class as her son, Misha.
So the news has come around, through newspapers, through word-of-mouth, to my brother and my sister (who also knew him) and all of us have been hit pretty hard by the thought that Brad is no longer with us.
He was living in Boulder at the time, and most of his classmates had lost touch with him. This carries special meaning for people who graduated from the Mountain School, who know that class sizes were always small (mine was as small as eight at times) and almost everyone keeps in touch after graduation, as the years go by, either through the occasional letter or phone call.
It reminds me of that song by Neil Young, "One of these days/I'm gonna sit down and write a long letter/to all the good friends I've Known."
But then, sometimes, one of those days doesn't come soon enough, and you find out that there never was the chance to say goodbye. And for someone like Brad, who wasn't the kind of person to pick up the phone and call an old classmate, it becomes especially important for others to take the effort to make the call.
Losing Brad made me realize that there are people in my own life who I haven't spoken to in a while, who maybe I hear about now and then, who would probably love to hear from an old classmate or friend from the Valley.
Marie-Claire reminded me that getting in touch with old friends is so very important, and she said that there is a lesson to be learned from Brad -- that we must stay in touch with old friends and make that call. No matter how awkward it may seem at the time, it will always turn out to be the right thing after all.
So among those who know Brad there has been a resurgence of friendship. The news of his loss has inspired old friends to get in touch, and check in on each other, and re-build the ties that made (and make) this small community such a healthy place to grow up. We are all one big family, and for someone like Brad, who lost his parents early, our role as brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers to each other becomes doubly important.
So it's time for me to go -- I've got a few phone calls to make. And tonight, even if it takes me late into the night, I'm going to take Neil Young's advice: I'm going to sit down and write a long letter to all the good friends I've had.
