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Earle F. Young, Jr. August 3, 1927 – April 14, 2022

Earle F. Young, Jr., 94, a retired vice president of the American Iron and Steel Institute, died peacefully in his sleep on April 14, 2022. He was a traveler, a storyteller, a photographer, a devoted husband and father, an environmentalist and renaissance man.

Although he was young for World War II, Earle followed the success trail of the Greatest Generation. After serving in the Army from 1945-46, he studied chemical engineering at Carnegie Tech, now Carnegie Mellon University, graduating in 1949. He married his beloved Rosalie Coleman in 1950, and their first son, Earle III, was born in 1951, followed by Michael in 1953 and Myra in 1954. Earle documented the lives of these three with thousands of color slides and photographs.

By 1956, Earle was doing research for Jones & Laughlin Steel in Pittsburgh. The work took the family to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for a few years. The family returned to Pittsburgh, where all three children graduated high school and set off for college adventures. Earle’s environmental work with Jones &Laughlin led to his working with the American Iron and Steel Institute, where he rose to be Vice President for Environment and Energy. He worked there until his retirement in 1990.

But his work did not define his life. He and Rosalie were a devoted and social couple, enjoying bridge, golf, travel and ballroom dancing. Rosalie was a stay-at-home mom who was also active in community organizations. When the couple moved to Washington, she helped establish their social life, with memberships in the University Club and the Washington Area Golf and Country Club, the occasional formal dinner and bridge parties. The two began to travel more, with trips to Europe as well as domestic travel.

This phase of Earle’s life ended with the sudden and premature death of Rosalie in 1989.

After an unsettled period during which he retired and traveled a lot, Earle partnered with Sylvia Smith, and for more than 20 years, the two enjoyed a full life. Travel, including small-ship cruises; visiting grandchildren; Volksmarches in cities around the world; and Sunday picnics at a tidal inlet off the Potomac.

In retirement, Earle remained active, doing volunteer environmental consulting in Russia, Ecuador, Romania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Thailand and Taiwan. Closer to home, Earle was active in Arlington Community Learning and regularly volunteered at the Arlington Free Clinic.

Sylvia Smith died in 2019, and Earle’s health declined steadily after that.

Earle is survived by his three children, Earle III’s (Sara Kuhl), Michael, and Myra Bell (Tim Bell); three grandchildren, Melanie Ryan (Sean), Scott Bell (Vanessa) and Eileen Young (Tristan Tinder) and two great grandchildren, Will Ryan and Max Bell.

In lieu of flowers, please make any memorial donations to the Arlington Free Clinic, https://www.arlingtonfreeclinic.org/get-involved/donate/.

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