Nebraska Engineering mourns Young, former administrator and faculty

Lyle Eugene Young died Dec. 20, 2012 at age 93 in Lincoln. He was a professor of civil engineering with the UNL College of Engineering from 1953 until his retirement in 1986, and served as the college’s associate dean for 22 years and its interim dean for the Omaha and Lincoln campuses for two years. 

Young was born October 16, 1919, in Brandford, N.D., to Lester and Almeda Young. He grew up in Granite Falls, Minn., and earned his degrees in civil engineering from the University of Minnesota.

He worked as a civil engineer for the Pennsylvania Railroad until he was drafted in June 1942; while in the United States Army Air Corps, he married Marguerite Swenson on October 3, 1942, in Champaign, Ill. He served in World War II for 28 months in the South Pacific and was honorably discharged with the rank of captain in March 1946. The story of those years is told in the book Dearest Marguerite: Letters from a Soldier to the Wife He Left Behind, written by his wife.

He taught returning soldiers at the University of Minnesota College of Engineering for eight years, before moving to Lincoln. He was a member of Sigma Tau, Tau Beta Pi, Sigma Xi, Chi Epsilon, and is listed in Who’s Who in Engineering. He was past president of the Lincoln chapter of the Society of Professional Engineers and was a member of the American Society of Engineering Educators. 
He enjoyed travel, wood carving and community activities.

Survivors include his wife, his four children and their spouses: Lois (Gary) Abbuhl of Longmont, Colo.; Crystal (James) Mach of Minden, Neb.; Thomas (Wendi Coffman) Lincoln; and Nancy (Mark) Moser of Overland Park, Kan.; eight grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be given to CEDARS, Westminster Church Foundation, University of Nebraska Foundation, or NET.