George A. Young, III died earlier this week. He was eighty-six years old.
Nicknamed Lecky, Dr. Young grew up in Omaha. He received his bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth and his medical degree from the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 1964. After graduation, he worked as a psychiatrist in Hartford, San Francisco and at the National Institute of Mental Health in Washington; he also served in the military during the Vietnam War. In 1972 he returned to Omaha and joined his father’s medical practice.
Lecky Young was a renaissance man. He avidly windsurfed, sailed and played tennis. Unusually handy, he built boats from scratch, reconstructed old cars and erected elaborate treehouses. His wooden home in Omaha was a tour de force modernist landmark that he had built for decades. It burned down in a night-time fire in January 2022, with Young being seriously injured.
One of the very few active squash players in Nebraska, Young was a leading singles player for decades, traveling around the country for tournaments. He captured the national title in hardball six times: the 60+ in 2000, 2001 and 2002; the 65+ in 2004 and 2005; and 70+ in 2012.
While driving near his home in late August, Young was hit in Omaha by a drunk driver. He was transported to a hospital where he was in critical condition until he died in late September.
