Fire and Emergency NZ Hawke's Bay area manager Ken Cooper said that under Senior Station Officer Young's leadership of the volunteers, often called out late night for their array of duties including traffic and crowd control, general support of the firefighting crews and site security, the unit established such a reputation that it sometimes seemed to me more used by other emergency services.
The commitment and service led to Mr Young receiving the 25 years' service Gold Star in 2004, a Queen's Service Medal in the 2011 Queen's Birthday Honours, and a Napier Civic Award in 2012.
He was born in Nelson and moved to Hawke's Bay at the age of 15, entering the workforce initially in a plumbing apprenticeship. Qualified in the trade in which he remained for some years, he was unable to continue because of an illness, and moved into other careers including building with Keith Hay Homes, and then wharf job which ended with a near-fatal injury that kept him off work for more than five years.
He would later work as a Post Office chauffeur, a dairy proprietor and a taxi driver, before settling into the furniture trade, before retiring at the age of 68 in 2010.
His interest in sports took him into a role managing the Napier Technical under-19 rugby side coached by long-serving fireman Peter Draper, who spoke at the funeral, and ultimately Mr Young would manage a Tech premier champions Maddison Trophy-winning side.
He also served in service club Jaycees, and with the Napier Community Patrol, while at home he was known as the role model, and the champion chef at breakfast.
He is survived by wife Marie, whom he married in Napier on October 26, 1963, and by daughter Julie, son Nigel, and four grandchildren.
