Obituary of Marcia Joan Young

Marcia Joan Young was born in Northampton, MA, on June 28, 1937 to Mary (Mullen) and John Zalesky. As the oldest of four children, Marcia helped organize the household and children's activities while her parents worked. Growing up in Northampton, she lived close to her paternal grandparents with frequent visits from extended family from Fitchburg, MA. Marcia attended Northampton High School, of which she had fond memories, going to basketball games and performing in school plays that instilled in her a love of theater that lasted throughout her life. At the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, she studied speech and drama with a minor in education. She joined Sigma Delta Tau (SDT) sorority, making many friends with whom she kept in touch through the years. After college, Marcia enlisted and applied to Officer Candidate School (OCS) in Newport, RI, to join the U.S. Naval Reserve as a Navy WAVE. Her first tour of duty was at the Pentagon. She was next assigned to the Mare Island Naval Shipyard as the Admin & Personnel Officer in Vallejo, CA, on San Francisco Bay, where Marcia met and married her husband, then LTJG Keith Young, who was in Nuclear Power School there. Her husband's career in the Submarine Force took the family-which had grown to include two children, Wendy and Rebecca, cats and a dog-around the country, from Honolulu, to Fairfax, Bremerton, San Diego, and Charleston. While in Tidewater, Marcia taught 5th & 6th grade math & science at Portsmouth Catholic Elementary, which her children attended. On moving to Norfolk, VA, and the kids entering high school, Marcia entered the U.S. Civil Service working for the Command Operation & Test Evaluation Force (COMOPTEVFOR). After moving to Burke, VA, in 1987 on her husband's retirement, Marcia continued as an Administrative Assistant working for various Department of Defense (DoD) organizations such as NavAir as well as the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), from which she retired in 2006. The Youngs moved to Loudoun Co. in 2010. Marcia enjoyed supporting the arts, including the Virginia Opera, Washington National Opera, the Kennedy Center, Shakespeare Theater, Arena Stage, and Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, where she volunteered for 23+ years. She also volunteered for the local chapter of the American Association of University Women (AAUW). She was a long-time member of the Massachusetts State Society of Washington, DC, serving many years as the Membership VP. Marcia loved animals and supported environmental causes and historic preservation. Marcia traveled occasionally with her husband to tour places such as Civil War battlefields and regularly returned to visit family in her hometown of Northampton, MA. Marcia is survived by her husband CAPT Keith Young, USN Retired; daughter & son-in-law Wendy & Marc Jaccard of Saumsville, VA; daughter Rebecca Young of Sterling, VA; three grandchildren, Connor, Samantha, and Preston Jaccard; and her siblings, Charlene Abrahamsen of Riverhead, NY, Lucille Straub of Lansing, NY, and her brother John Zalesky, Jr., of Venice, FL. Marcia requested that donations in her name go to the CurePSP Foundation, 30 E. Padonia Road, Suite 201 Timonium, MD 21093 See more at www.psp.org