Sidney Leo Young, Sr.

Sidney Leo Young, Sr. — known to nearly everyone as Sid — was born February 11, 1943, in Delta, Utah, to Alva Allen Young and Emily Margret Petersen Young. He was the fourth of five children, with three older brothers and a younger sister. He was raised with a work ethic and values of a rural farming community. He passed away April 14, 2026, after a grueling battle with Alzheimer’s disease. He left behind a legacy as wide and open as the west desert he loved.

Sid’s story began in earnest in 1961, when he went to work in Salt Lake City at Sperry Rand and moved in with his brother Joe. It was there that he met the love of his life, Cecilia Blake, who lived just across the street. The moment Cecilia first laid eyes on Sid, she turned to a friend and declared that he was the man she was going to marry. She was right. The two were married December 14, 1962, in the Manti Temple — a union that would span more than six decades and became the foundation of everything he accomplished.

In 1964, Sid returned to the family farm. After a couple of years, he and Cecilia made a move to Salt Lake City, where he worked as a machinist at the Corden Company. But the farm called him back, and before long, he returned to Abraham to work for several years alongside his father. Then in 1970, Sid took a new step and founded Pahvant Precision, a machine shop he built with his own hands. The shop embodied who he was — He was a problem solver. He was inventive and creative. He could fix anything that was broken and dream up what didn’t yet exist. To him the word “impossible” did not exist. Over the course of his life, Sid filed for and was granted two patents. Sid built his own gyrocopter and flew it on the “hardpan” in the west desert. He was elected twice as Justice of the Peace for West Millard County. He served his community for eight years in this role.

At heart, he was a cowboy — and he had been since the age of five. Every year in the spring, he and his family would saddle up and drive cattle 90 miles on horseback from Abraham to the family ranch in Skull Valley and drive them back in the fall. He had many stories to tell about cattle drives and told those stories to the end. Alzheimer’s didn’t steal those stories from him.

In the 80’s Sid returned to the farm and remained there through the 90’s. In the early 2000’s he and his beloved wife moved to Mechanicsville, Maryland and lived in a mother-in-law suite with Trudy and her family. In Sid’s retirement, he enriched his grandchildren’s lives by sharing his creative mind, his love of music, old movies, and sharing his past through stories.

While in Maryland, Sid cared for Cecilia during the greatest health trial she has faced. He was a loving husband and father and always put his family first.
In his later years, Sid and Cecilia made their home with their daughter Tina in Springville, Utah. Even then, his mind never stopped. He worked on a hydrogen fuel cell. He ran two 3-D printers at once. And in the end, he took everything apart and glued all the furniture to the floor — still creating, right up to the last. His faith was as much a part of him as his creativity. Sid loved to memorize scripture, a skill taught to him by his father. Later in life he memorized in its entirety, chapter 10 of Moroni and most of D & C 121. These scriptures guided his life. He recited these passages over and over again. Those who knew him best were the recipients of his recitations. Sid always kept the sabbath day holy, letting his fields sit idle on the sabbath no matter the weather.

Sid is survived by his beloved wife, Cecilia Blake Young; his children Tina (Lincoln) Stevens, Sid Jr. (Chanhei) Young, Trudy (Steven) Bainter, and George (Lora) Young; his brother Max Halley “Hal” Young and sister Emily “Sis” McCollum; 14 grandchildren; and 18 great-grandchildren, with one more on the way. He was preceded in death by his parents, and by his brothers Alva Allen Young, Jr. “Junior”. and Joe Sharkey Young. He leaves behind a family who loved him, a community he served, and a world he made a little more interesting for having passed through it. There will not be another quite like
Sid Young.

A celebration of life will be held on June 19, 2026. Please e-mail SidsCelebrationOfLife@gmail.com for details of location and time. All are welcome to
attend and share memories of Sid.