Karen
Karen Young
d. March 11, 2016
Karen Ann Young
Funeral services for Karen Ann Young, 46, who died in the crash of a single engine aircraft she was flying, will be Friday, March 18, at 10 a.m. at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Los Alamos. Burial will be in Gauje Pines Cemetery followed by a reception at the church’s Karen McLaughlin Parish Hall.
Young was a native of Los Alamos. She graduated from Los Alamos High School in 1987. She earned the B. S. Degree in Mechanical Engineering, and the Master’s and Ph.D Degrees in Materials Science, all from the University of California, Davis Campus.
She was employed by the Los Alamos National Laboratory, first as a student, in 1991. She was hired as a staff member at LANL in 1998, She served as a radio frequency engineer and deputy group leader in Group AOT-RFE at the Laboratory’s Los Alamos Neutron Science Center before her death in the aircraft that crashed near the Ohkay Owingeh Airport near Espanola March 11.
Young had many interests which she patiently and adamantly shared with her children and other children of the community. She was athletic and took advantage of the opportunities in the Los Alamos area to include jogging, biking, hiking, skiing and a triathlon. She taught dog obedience classes for the county’s 4-H program. Her latest passion was flying. She received her license in January 2016. She was practicing takeoffs and landings at the Ohkay Owingeh Airport near Espanola March 11 when the crash that took her life, and that of Thomas Spickermann, occurred.
An email circulated among members of the aviation community states: “Young also enjoyed sharing her enthusiasm for flight, especially with her husband and children. Karen took each of her children to experience the joy of flying, and just a week ago flew her husband to Taos for a picnic lunch under the wing of the airplane.”
She is survived by her husband, Daniel, and two children: Charlie, 11, and Matthew, 9; her parents, Charlie Cummings, Pryor, OK, and Isabel Cummings, Los Alamos; and a brother, Charles “Chuck” Cummings, Los Alamos.
Daniels parents, Lloyd and Linda Young, formerly of Los Alamos, now of Lincolnton, GA, and a brother, Chris, with his wife Tina and son Walker will attend the services.
Pallbearers are Will Fox, Michael Szczepanski, Brian Haynes, Dan Rees, Nathan DeBardeleben, and Randy Roberts. Memorial donations for the Charlie and Matthew Young Scholarship Fund are being accepted at the Los Alamos Schools Credit Union, n1900 Diamond Drive. The family of Karen Ann Young has entrusted the care of their loved one to the DeVargas Funeral Home & Crematory of the Espanola Valley. 505-747-7477 – www.devargasfuneral.com
Funeral services for Karen Ann Young, 46, who died in the crash of a single engine aircraft she was flying, will be Friday, March 18, at 10 a.m. at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Los Alamos. Burial will be in Gauje Pines Cemetery followed by a reception at the church’s Karen McLaughlin Parish Hall.
Young was a native of Los Alamos. She graduated from Los Alamos High School in 1987. She earned the B. S. Degree in Mechanical Engineering, and the Master’s and Ph.D Degrees in Materials Science, all from the University of California, Davis Campus.
She was employed by the Los Alamos National Laboratory, first as a student, in 1991. She was hired as a staff member at LANL in 1998, She served as a radio frequency engineer and deputy group leader in Group AOT-RFE at the Laboratory’s Los Alamos Neutron Science Center before her death in the aircraft that crashed near the Ohkay Owingeh Airport near Espanola March 11.
Young had many interests which she patiently and adamantly shared with her children and other children of the community. She was athletic and took advantage of the opportunities in the Los Alamos area to include jogging, biking, hiking, skiing and a triathlon. She taught dog obedience classes for the county’s 4-H program. Her latest passion was flying. She received her license in January 2016. She was practicing takeoffs and landings at the Ohkay Owingeh Airport near Espanola March 11 when the crash that took her life, and that of Thomas Spickermann, occurred.
An email circulated among members of the aviation community states: “Young also enjoyed sharing her enthusiasm for flight, especially with her husband and children. Karen took each of her children to experience the joy of flying, and just a week ago flew her husband to Taos for a picnic lunch under the wing of the airplane.”
She is survived by her husband, Daniel, and two children: Charlie, 11, and Matthew, 9; her parents, Charlie Cummings, Pryor, OK, and Isabel Cummings, Los Alamos; and a brother, Charles “Chuck” Cummings, Los Alamos.
Daniels parents, Lloyd and Linda Young, formerly of Los Alamos, now of Lincolnton, GA, and a brother, Chris, with his wife Tina and son Walker will attend the services.
Pallbearers are Will Fox, Michael Szczepanski, Brian Haynes, Dan Rees, Nathan DeBardeleben, and Randy Roberts. Memorial donations for the Charlie and Matthew Young Scholarship Fund are being accepted at the Los Alamos Schools Credit Union, n1900 Diamond Drive. The family of Karen Ann Young has entrusted the care of their loved one to the DeVargas Funeral Home & Crematory of the Espanola Valley. 505-747-7477 – www.devargasfuneral.com
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Karen Young, please visit our flower store.