Obituary of William David "Dave" Young

UPDATE 8/30/2023

Visitation for both Dave and Lesley will be held 6-9 PM Friday, October 20, 2023 at Willard H. Scott Funeral Home, 12 South Ave., Webster. 

          William David (Dave) Young passed away on March 6th, 2023 at the age of 70 after a long health battle. Dave was predeceased by his parents, Arthur and Isabel, brother-in-law, Kevin, brother-in-law, Bruce, and nephew, Eric. He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Lesley, son, Tim, sister, Martha, brother-in-law, Jon, sister-in-law, Nancy, nephews and nieces, James, David, Bobby, Julie, Robyn, Adam, and Adrienne, and many cousins. He also leaves behind his much loved cats.   

          Born June 23rd, 1952 in Webster, Dave was nearly a lifelong resident of the town. He fondly remembered playing in Webster Park as a child, racing around on his bike. While attending RL Thomas he began working as a photographer, in his father's footsteps, for the Webster Herald. From there he met his wife and was married on St. Patrick's Day 1972. He later purchased Empire State Weeklies and Webster Printing with his business partner around 1980 and later took sole ownership in 2000. Dave worked for nearly 55 years with the community and many local businesses, schools, and town governments. He was hands-on in the shop and giving a hand until he began easing into retirement.

          Dave partook in many activities with his friends and family. He loved coaching little league baseball and having catches with his son and served on the WAA board. He always tried to find time to come to Tim's baseball, roller hockey, or softball games and loved to sponsor teams and chat it up with everyone. Dave also participated in community theater with his wife and son. He built set pieces that were near to building code while also working as a tech crew and begrudgingly appeared on stage as an extra for "Oliver." He also helped with Cub and Boy Scouts with his son. 

          Dave was a very handy person doing much of the work on his homes and cottage himself. He was constantly learning how to complete projects and finding ways to injure himself. It was like the show "Home Improvement" was based on him, friends would joke.

          He loved spending time at his cottage and giving boat rides, taking friends and family tubing and waterskiing, and hosting festivities. It was his escape.

          His favorite hobby was building Lego sets. He picked it up after his son went to college and never stopped. He built a room complete with tables and hanging platforms to display his collection. It would not be enough, as a second room in the basement needed to be added. Currently, his collection ranks in the top 3% of the world. Everyone that has seen the sets displayed has had to pick their jaws up off of the floor. He also took piano lessons for years with the goal always to be able to play "Piano Man."

          Dave also loved to travel with his wife and friends going on many cruises and vacations seeing the world. He always made sure to get a shot glass for his son from every new location he visited. Memorable vacations included Australia, the Mediterranean, a road trip down California's PCH 1, and his absolute favorite, Maui. 

          He will be remembered as being an extremely generous caretaker of his family, friends, and employees, always ready to help. Dave had a special ability to pass on his wealth of knowledge be it in the printing business, the wood shop, or life in general. He went above and beyond to keep his businesses open and his work family employed as the printing industry shrank and during the pandemic years. Dave selflessly put others before himself. 

          Dave has a special place in Webster's history for his work and contributions.