Vera Mae Young

Vera Mae Young age 98 of Fairfield, passed away Monday, February 20, 2023, at Addington Place Assisted Living.

Visitation for family & friends will be 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., Friday, February 24, 2023, at the First Presbyterian Church, 605 B South 23rd Street, Fairfield, Iowa.  To enter the church, you will go to the back (lower) side of the building.

Funeral service will be 3:00 p.m., Saturday, February 25, 2023, at Golden Magnolia Sanctuary, formerly the First Presbyterian Church with Rev. Joseph Phipps officiating.  Burial will follow the service at Evergreen Cemetery.  There will be a meal at the Fairfield Golf & Country Club following the graveside service.

Memorials may be made to First Presbyterian Church of Fairfield, with contribution checks made out to the church, or the Vera Young Science Scholarship. If making a memorial to Vera Young Science Scholarship, please make the check out to Linda Mitcheltree and in the memo line write Vera Young Science Scholarship. Cards and memorials may be mailed to Linda Mitcheltree, 704 Franklin St, Keosauqua, IA 52565.

Vera was born November 29, 1924, in Unionville, Iowa to Joseph and Lucile (Stuckey) Price. She attended Parsons College where she met her future husband. She married Philip E “Tib” Young on August 15, 1948, at the Fairview Church in Unionville, Iowa.  They were married 52 years before he passed away on October 13, 2000.

Vera received her Bachelor’s Degree from Parsons College, and her Master’s Degree from the University of Iowa. Vera taught alongside her husband Tib for 26 years as professors at Parsons College. Following the closure of the college, Vera then taught Anatomy and Biology for 15 years at Fairfield High School, where she launched the career of several doctors and nurses. She was a member of the First Presbyterian Church, P.E.O. Chapter C and Wit and Wisdom.  Vera was a 4-H Leader and a Sunday School teacher for many years. One of the clubs she started on her own at Fairfield High School was INS (I’ll Never Smoke), which received the award for outstanding INS club in the state.  She received many lifetime awards, including those from: The American Lung Association of Iowa, Presbyterian Women, Fairfield Community School District, and 4-H. Most recently Vera was inducted into the Parsons College Wall of Honor.

Vera will be missed by her children, Linda Mitcheltree of Keosauqua, Joni (Steven) Pfeifer of Clearwater, FL and Phyllis (Raymond) Tjepkes of Lynwood, WA; four grandchildren, Jessica (Cameron) Reed of Washington, IA, Schuyler (Arianna Weber) Tjepkes, and Hannah (Brittany) Tjepkes of Lynwood, WA, and Philip Mitten of Everett, WA; one great grandchild, Stella Reed.

Vera was preceded in death by her parents, Joseph and Lucile; husband, Philip Young; son-in-law, David Mitcheltree; brothers, Harold, Hebert and Harry; and sisters, Agnes Ford, Annabelle Cochran and Virgene Johnson.