Alda Jean Young - born July 21, 1931

Alda Jean Clark Young, age 83, of Mars Hill, NC, died at her home at 5:45am, Saturday, May 23, 2015. She had been in failing health for several years.

A resident of Mars Hill, NC, Alda Jean was the only child to Mary Glenn Clark and was the grand-daughter of Ben and Pansy Clark of Mars Hill.

After graduating from Mars Hill High School in 1949, Alda Jean received her junior college degree from Mars Hill College in 1951. She then went to Berea College majoring in music and English, finishing with her Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1953. After two years of teaching, she worked for three summers and one fall until she obtained her Masters of Arts Degree in English at Appalachian State University.

In 1955, Alda Jean began her career as a teacher, teaching music in Macon, Georgia. The next year, she came back to Mars Hill never to leave again. She then taught music and English at North Buncombe High School until 1970. In 1975 she began teaching English and Humanities at Madison High School and was there until she retired in 1993.

Mars Hill College was her play ground. At ten years old she began taking speech lessons with Dr. Ella Pearce, which laid the groundwork for her decision to major in English. As she got older she added voice and piano lessons to her summer class work, beginning her lifelong pursuit of music.

Alda Jean was greatly influenced by her grandparents, who both attended Mars Hill College in 1906 and 1907. Her grandmother taught school, but her grandfather was a “fiddle playing, buck dancing” craftsman. From him, was instilled a love of our mountain cultural heritage. As a Freshman at Mars Hill College, she was a clogger on The Bailey Mountain Square Dance Team. The team toured colleges and universities in Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma in a Lyceum program with Bascom Lamar Lunsford. She sang “Barbara Allen” and “On Top of Ole Smokey” to his accompaniment on the banjo, never realizing what an important man Mr. Lunsford would become in the world of folk arts.

As a member of Mars Hill Baptist Church, she served as a deacon, a member of the Music Board, and a member of the choir. She served as the President of the Madison County Chapter of the North Carolina Cystic Fibrosis Foundation for eleven years. Alda Jean was a charter member and co-chairperson of organizing citizens for the Greater Ivy Community Citizens Association. As part of this group, she was especially thankful for having the opportunity to create a written history of the Greater Ivy Community. She was a choir director at Flat Creek Baptist Church.

Alda Jean is survived by her husband of 62 years, Gerald Young; her son, Eugene Young, and his wife Karen; her daughter Tammie Young; her grandson Jesse and her granddaughter Lou.

The funeral service will be held at 2:00 PM Friday, May 29, 2015 in Mars Hill Baptist Church. Officiating will be Dr. Tommy Justus and Rev. Stanley Peek. Burial will follow after a reception at Mars Hill Baptist Church in the Young Cemetery on Oscar Young Road. The family will receive friends 1 – 2 PM prior to the service in the church. Memorial Contributions may be made to Mars Hill Baptist Church Music Fund, PO Box 218, Mars Hill, NC 28754.

The family would like to offer a word of thanks to the staff at Mars Hill Medical Center, the staff at Maxim Healthcare Services and the nurses at Madison Home Care & Hospice.

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