Thomas "Dave" David Young

Dave Young entered the presence of the Lord he told so many people about to be reunited with his beloved wife Faye on November 5, 2023. Thomas David Young was born on July 16, 1939 in Pawhuska, Oklahoma to George and Eva (Jackson) Young. The youngest of three children, he graduated from Ponca City High School in 1957 where he played baritone saxophone in the marching band. He studied music at Oklahoma Baptist University before transferring to Oklahoma State University where he earned his degree in electrical engineering. On August 31, 1958 Dave married Bonnie Faye Taylor at the Lynn Baptist Church in Pawhuska, Oklahoma and they were married for more than 62 years until her death in 2021. After graduation from college Dave worked at RCA and then as a contractor at the Altus Air Force Base before being hired by IBM. For the next seventeen years he wrote manuals for computer operation and installation. In 1978 he left IBM to help start Rochester Christian School for his church in Rochester, Minnesota. In 1980 he enrolled in Hyles Anderson College where he earned a degree in pastoral theology. He then began a second career in ministry, serving at churches in Minnesota and in Florida. He filled various roles including music director, bus ministry director and operations and maintenance director. Following the collapse of the communist government, Dave and Faye responded to the call of God and moved to Albania in 1993 to accomplish their greatest work as missionaries. They founded the New Hope Baptist Church in the capital city of Tirana. That church is still alive and well and being led by an Albanian pastor that he trained. He visited mountain villages only accessible by helicopter to share the gospel and put thousands of miles on their Land Rover to reach remote towns over primitive roads. In 2005 they were forced to leave Albania for health reasons and returned to the United States. After returning home, Dave was active in the ministries of Shenandoah Baptist Church in Martinsburg, West Virginia including hospital visitation. In 2013 Dave and Faye moved to Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. They were members of Eastland Bapist Church. He was preceded in death by his parents, sisters Georgia Young and Alice Dvorak, and wife Faye (Taylor) Young. He is survived by son Rick and wife Susan Young of New Bern, North Carolina and daughter Brenda and husband Robert Byers of Coweta, Oklahoma, five grandchildren and four great-

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Thomas "Dave" David Young

July 16, 1939 - November 5, 2023