James Young

James "Jim" Young, age 72 of Hugo, Minnesota, died Tuesday, September 24, 2019.  He was the former co-owner of Lincoln Landscaping and former owner/operator of Young Excavating in Hugo, MN.  Known as “Inappropriate Jim” to his poker friends, a flirtatious teaser of waitresses and master Uno cheater.  Jim was the third of nine children born to Byron “Barney” Young and his wife Lucille (Weekley) Young. Jim attended school in White Bear Lake, MN and wrestled during his time there.  He was an excellent wrestler and was even offered a chance to try-out for the US Olympic wrestling team, but turned it down.  He graduated from WBL high school in 1964.  In 1966, Jim was drafted into the Vietnam War.  He was sent to Fort Leonard Wood in the Ozarks of Missouri and Fort Belvoir in Virginia before being sent to Korat, Thailand where he worked in the Army Corps of Engineers.  During the war, he played a great deal of volleyball. But he brought an Army education on soils and engineering back to the states with him and, after marrying his first wife and having a daughter, he and a friend started Lincoln Landscaping together.  Many years later, he went out on his own by starting Young Excavating. He married for a second time in 1986.  That marriage also ended in divorce and Jim said he’d never marry a third time.  He joined a singles club in Forest Lake and attended many activities with them over the years -- including volleyball.  The man was very serious about his volleyball. He was a very active young man, participating in snowmobile racing, water skiing, fishing and hunting.  He was a regular at the Forest Lake health club for many years and even built two of his own homes.  He also enjoyed reading and games, especially cards.  In recent years he enjoyed going out to Running Aces.  He made many friends there – players and employees.  In later years, his hobbies were mainly poker, giving grief to waitresses at his favorite lunch places, smiling and waving at every little kid he saw, helping out his friends, reading and watching television.  He loved to re-watch old favorites like Star Trek, The Rockford Files and Magnum, P.I.  But he also liked educational science programs and enjoyed learning about space (Mars in particular) and how the universe worked. He will be missed by all who knew him. Jim was preceded in death by his parents Byron “Barney” Young and Lucille “Lucy” (Weekley) Young.  He is survived by his siblings:  Ray, Arlene Rickaby, Norman (Kelly), Myrna (Ken) Carlson, Larry (Lisa), Shaggy, Laura (Todd) Lewandowski and Terry; many nieces and nephews, his daughter Marnie and his smarter and prettier daughter, Hobbes (the dog).

A gathering of friends and family will be held from 5:00-7:00 p.m.,Tuesday, October 1, 2019 with a time of sharing beginning at 7:00 p.m., at Mattson Funeral Home, 343 North Shore Drive, Forest Lake.  A complete notice will follow.