Virginia Young

Virginia L. Young, 95, of Monahans, passed away Tuesday, February 10, 2015 at Medical Center Hospital in Odessa. She was born April 4, 1919.

Virginia lived a long life and loved to tell stories of her youth. She remembered back when her dad bought her mom and electric cook stove, but she didn't like it so he got her a wood burning cook stove. It had a warming closet on top and when they came in from school, there would always be warm food like baked sweet potatoes or friend apple or peach pies or something good to eat. She remembered the dust bowl days. They were terrible. The dust would blow from the north and it would get so dark it almost seemed like night. She recalled these as terrible, scary times. She was about 10 years old then.

Her mother met her daddy when he was a cowboy. He was called "White Horse" Collins because he always rode a white horse. He spoke Spanish fluently and worked cattle on the open range. She said her dad smoked cigarettes from the age of 16 (when he left home) until he was78 years old and then quit (cold turkey) because he thought they weren't good for him. He died at the age of 80.

She remembered the "rub boards" and the sheets and towels were boiled and bluing was used in the rinse water so the sheets were a brilliant white. She also recalled helping to make lye soap in a large black pot in the back yard. There was also the tedious process of quilt making. Her Aunt Bessie would tell her to "make the stitches small so when you get married your husband won't get his toe caught in one of those stitches."

Virginia's daughter, Gloria, loved to pick wild flowers, buttercups, etc. and take to her mother. She'd put them in a glass of water and her mother would love them. But she would transfer the flowers to an empty tomato can or some other container after she'd remove the labels.

Virginia was Valedictorian of the class of 1937. She worked hard in school and when she graduated, she had scholarships to the University of Texas, Texas Tech, Texas State College for Women in Denton, John Tarleton College in Stephenville, and to Brantley-Draught, a Business College in Fort Worth. She resided in Monahans half her life. She retired from Furr's Super Market where she worked in the meat market. Virginia loved people and had many friends. She was a member of the Third & Dwight Church of Christ.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Jessie C. Young, who passed away in 1998.

Virginia is survived by her two children, Gloria Roberts of Monahans and David Young of Odessa; seven grandsons; one granddaughter; three great grandchildren; and three great-great grandsons.

Visitation will be Thursday, February 12, 2015 from 11 AM - 8 PM at Harkey Funeral Home. Funeral services will be Friday, February 13, 2015 at 10 AM at Third & Dwight Church of Christ with Billy Reed officiating followed by interment at Monahans Memorial Cemetery.