Dad

John Lotter Young: July 19, 1934 – September 28, 2021 
 
Born in Boston, MA, the fifth and final child of Charles and Pauline Brogan Young, they realized that with John, they finally got it right. That, or John’s lively nature scared them from further adding to the clan. As a child, John was prohibited from sitting near car doors for several years, after successfully proving to his beloved brother Charlie that their dad drove so slowly that he could indeed exit from the moving family car unscathed. 
 
The son of the lawyer who helped legalize Sunday baseball at Fenway Park, John was a lifelong fan of “those bums”, which explains much of his hair loss. Through her legendary cooking, his mother fostered a tremendous love of food, which explains his healthy waistline. Even seventy-five years later, John and his late sister Ann (Hatton) would vividly recite menus from Mother’s dinners in tantalizing and mouthwatering detail. Both became excellent chefs, out of the necessity to maintain her culinary standards. John attended St. John’s Prep High School, then Amherst College, then Dartmouth College for his MBA, but always referred to his sister Helen (Dolan) as “the smart one”. The day before he died, he asked if he would see his oldest sister Mary soon, who passed away years ago.  Family was everything to John, and he successfully created a tight-knit family of his own.
 
John’s friendships with Quincy St. John the Baptist Elementary School buddies Bob Bruce, Dan Gorman and Leo Zavatone continued to the end. At St. John’s Prep, he was mysteriously voted best dressed, but considered his greatest achievement the lifelong friendships he formed, particularly with George Winchester, who become a Jesuit priest. This reassured John that many of their adventures would be forgiven, or at least that George was sworn to a holy vow of confidentiality. 
 
At Amherst John again thrived, creating more lifelong bonds with the likes of Pete Levinson, John Fulton, Jimmy Li, Jerry Cogan, John Royse, Dick Volpert, and beer. He was also lineback and Captain of the Amherst football team: pure glory in the short term, a prosthetic hip in the long. While majoring in Political Science, John also learned how to get a Volkswagon Bug into Johnson Chapel, from which he and friends threw shrimp to the stunned assembly. He graduated cum laude, sans shrimp.
 
John met the love of his life, Donna Coffey, in a bar, which begs the question why he was so worried years later that his daughter met her husband online. In their almost 56 years of marriage, they created phenomenal friendships, worldwide adventures, and amassed way too much stuff. We confidently say this after decluttering their home of 41 years. Children of the Depression, John & Donna threw nothing away. Really. Nothing. 
 
Pauline, Stephanie and John (Jake) were fortunate to be raised by this man of quiet strength. Two years after signing up with Cabot Corporation, John took us on our first foreign assignment to Pampa Texas, where we lived for almost five years. He again forged lifelong friendships with many Cabot colleagues (Burnham, Fowler, Edwards and Cotter come to mind). While this was followed with stints in Sao Paulo, Brazil (2 years) and Paris, France (7 years), John never came close to mastering another language, not even Texan. When in a “non-English” situation, John would patiently look at the foreigner and just speak more slowly and loudly, his Boston accent on full display. Miraculously, as the Managing Director of the Brazilian Plant and the Director of Finance for Cabot Europe, he managed to get his point across to every non-English speaker he dealt with, from waiters in Italy, to co-workers in Argentina.
 
John loved travel, and in addition to museums and attractions, this meant finding the best food and drink available, whether in the rain forest of the Amazon or the highlands of Scotland.  Along the way, this resulted in his becoming an accomplished WWII buff, a proud Chevalier du Taste Vin (a Knight in wine tasting), and Chair of the Board of Regents for Marymount International School in Paris. Again, it was friendships with the likes of Diane Cahill and Fr. Eugene Mc Carthy which he most treasured. 
 
His deep love of family and friends was only matched by his love of home, the South Shore of Boston, particularly Hingham, Hull and Quincy. John’s close friends here are too many to list, and his love for the ocean rivals its depth. He spent many happy days on his various boats, all creatively named “the Sea Tramp”. Although “fishing” for John often meant emptying beer cans with friends and then stopping off for fish on the way home, John felt more peace on the ocean than he did anywhere else. At the age of 42, he bought his childhood dream home in Hingham which overlooked the ocean, and spent many years there throwing legendary dinner parties with his partner-in-crime Donna.
 
He was thrilled to see his family expand, with in-laws Joseph (Joe) Rush & Jory Rosen, and Darragh Fitzsimons. He was the proud Captain John/Grandpa John to Florence (Florie), Bryce, Kyle, John III (Tripp), Lillie Grace, Alexandra (Ali), James (Weston) and Tyler. He is also survived by many nephews, nieces, and godchildren, whom he adored.
 
When his beloved Donna needed Memory Care, John reluctantly moved to Tucson, Arizona three months ago, muttering under his breath that he would rather die. Unfortunately, he wasn’t kidding. A devout Catholic, he was an active parishioner of churches around the world, and received Last Rites on his last day. He passed away peacefully, surrounded by family.
 
All the above is nothing compared to John’s character. His loyalty, integrity, generosity, gentleness and deep kindness leave an indelible mark on those of us graced to have known him.  Not a day will go by without us thinking of him. Not a day will go by without us missing him. It is the end of an era.
 
After a private blessing, John will be cremated. His funeral mass will be at his beloved parish St. Paul’s in Hingham, sometime in 2022. In lieu of flowers, John requested that gifts be made in his name to St. Paul’s Elementary School: 18 Fearing Road Hingham MA 02043