Michael Young
October 16, 1968 – November 24, 2020
To know Mike is to truly love Mike. This sentiment is universal. His personality, warmth and love for everyone around him was contagious. He loved them and they loved him. More than anything, he had a profound love of family and his deep, abiding faith. These two values were the foundation of everything he was and everything he did.
Mike loved Margaret, Helen, Emily and James as much as any husband and father could. They were the center of his world and he was the center of theirs. Mike absolutely adored and admired Margaret and appreciated all she did for him and the family. He respected her strength, her passion and her determination. Mike cherished his children, delighting in their many activities and accomplishments, but most proud of the kind of people they became. He was captivated by their personalities and individual spirits. Their values and character were what brought him the most joy. He and Margaret instilled in Helen, Emily, and James kindness, care of others, integrity, hard work, love of family and most of all, a belief in a loving God.
He was not only at every game and event, always front and center, cheering and sometimes coaching, but he spent many hours talking with them—comforting, guiding, problem solving. He had infinite patience and understanding. His children shared that he “loved me no matter what” and “I told him everything--he was just my person.” Mike was everyone’s “person” – always there with a story, an ear, advice or a heartfelt prayer. He was always there for them, as he will be with us with his indelible spirit. He desperately wanted their dreams to come true. As his children so easily acknowledged, “Dad tried his best to make everyone happy”. And, when you were around him, you understood.
Born in Fort Worth on October 16, 1968, Mike was the youngest of three and the only one to get his father’s red hair (much to his Grandma’s delight). He was precocious, funny, the family clown, and played LOTS of sports. He was “our sweet and kind Mikey.” After living in Buenos Aires, Midland, Oklahoma City, and Plano, he moved to Spring and graduated from Klein High School in 1987. Mike earned both a BA and MA in Accounting at his beloved University of Texas. Beginning his career at Arthur Anderson, he embarked on a 28-year career in energy. Mike became CFO and then CEO at unusually young ages. He was well loved and respected by all who worked with him. His innate ability to make everyone around him feel good about themselves and whatever they were doing were hallmarks of his leadership.
Mike cherished his parents as well as his brother and sister. He was both the anchor of the family. He adored his father, Bill—they were very close and Mike loved having his dad’s opinions on business matters. They talked often, and Mike loved sharing his immense pride in his kids. Mike was the beloved baby brother of Janice and Will. Mike was unusually close to his cousins and was loved as a brother by Howdy, Matt, and Bubba. Regardless of where everyone was or what they were doing, Mike was the one who organized weekly Zoom calls to keep them connected. That was Mike – making sure everyone was connected, happy and, yes, talking.
It is an understatement to say that Mike never met a stranger – to him, they were just new friends. They were at the center of so many different, but interconnected communities—Episcopal High School, St. John’s School, sports team after sports team, Young Presidents’ Organization, Fantasy Football League, and especially the Church of St. John the Divine. Once Mike was part of a group, he never let go.
Mike’s faith was at the core of his being and he was a mainstay of the church. One friend calls him a “warrior for the Lord.” Outside of his family, the people of the Saint John the Divine (SJD) community were the most important in Mike’s life. His faith blossomed when he took part in the Alpha Course—Mike would say that it changed his life. But Mike and his faith changed others’ lives as well. One friend attended an Alpha course led by Mike and said, it was ”at that moment, I decided to make service a core part of my life and Mike helped to shape that.”
You often hear that a person was “a man of few words.” Mike was not one of those. He was known in certain circles as ‘Sir Talks-a-Lot’. His love of the moment and personal connection was easily recognized by all who knew him. If you texted Mike, he would usually call you back, not text. If you were going to call him, you had better block off a few minutes, because you were going to have a real conversation. His family knew to have a snack before a pre-meal prayer — often, the hotter the meal, the longer the grace. That was Mike – a man of so many words, so deep with conviction and so filled with love.
Mike is survived by his adoring wife, Margaret Aswad Young; his devoted children Helen Margaret, Emily Judith, and James Patrick; his father William C. Young III; a sister, Janice Young Henderson and brother William C. Young IV and his wife, Ann-Marie; his mother-in-law, Margaret ‘Meg’ Aswad; brother-in-law Patrick Aswad and his wife, Shawn; niece Kate Henderson and nephews Chris Young, Pete Henderson, Declan Young, Nash Aswad, and Charter Aswad; aunt and uncle Lenn and Gerry Tucker; aunt Dottie Ewing; adoring cousins; and too many dear and cherished friends to count.
Mike will always be in our hearts, in our minds, and in our prayers. He forever touched us with his humanity and unending love. And, his spirit will guide us to continue to do the “good” that Mike so desperately wanted for our world and community.
An outdoor service and reception will be held on Sunday, December 6th, at 2:00 p.m. at St. John the Divine in Houston—2450 River Oaks Blvd. Please register at
https://www.sjd.org/young/ to allow planning for attendance. Mike was most comfortable in jeans, a fishing shirt and a pair of Red Wings. Please don’t hesitate to wear the same.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to St. John the Divine prayer and Lord of the Streets ministries.