William Victor Young
April 25, 1937 - February 6, 2021
Born April 25, 1937 in Albany, California, William was a beloved spouse, father and grandfather. He passed away peacefully after a short illness, surrounded by loved ones at his home in Fort Bragg, California on Saturday February 6, 2021. He was 83.
William was the youngest of three children born to Victor and Nina Young (MacNamara) of Albany, California. After graduating from Albany High, he pursued higher education at Oregon State and San Jose State before joining the Army where he served as an officer. After being honorably discharged, he took advantage of the GI Bill to study for a Master’s Degree in History at the University of Oregon. It was there that he met and married the first love of his life, Genevieve (Jennie) Murphy.
William and Jennie enrolled in Teachers for East Africa and, with their first child Mark in tow, spent the next two years running a secondary school in Kakamega, Kenya. Setting the tone for their future life together, William then accepted a job at Bank of America International. After their second child Michael was born, William and Jennie set off for Lagos, Nigeria where their third child, Sarah, joined them soon after.
William’s love of international banking led to a long and rewarding career which brought the family to the Netherlands, Guatemala, West Germany and to Venezuela where he took charge of Bank of America’s Latin America/Caribbean Division during a challenging period both for the bank and the economies of the region. He led his team in an ambitious rationalization of the bank’s presence in Latin America and was known as a strategic leader who was valued by his co-workers as a great mentor. His management success led to his promotion to run Bank of America’s World Banking Division in San Francisco. William’s final assignment for the bank was in London, where he was Head of International Banking for all of Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
After Jennie’s untimely death in 1990, William retired from the bank and, deciding to remain in London, went on to study History at Cambridge University for the next couple of years.
While on a flight back to the States, William met and fell in love with Angela DeLeeuw, a career flight attendant for Pan American and a native of the Netherlands. Twice blessed, he happily moved back to the Bay Area to marry Angela and help raise her daughter, Melissa.
William and Angela’s wonderful life together was always full of travel, family and friends. A life-long student of history, a lover of the Oakland A’s, Premier League and World Cup Soccer, William’s many interests occupied and engaged him right up until the end. He was always full of pride and support for the achievements of his children and grandchildren and nothing made him happier than reading in a sunny window with a family pet by his side.
It is impossible to describe how much he will be missed by those who knew and loved him. Angela’s devotion to William in the last few months of his life stands as a testament to how much two people could love one another.
William was predeceased by his parents, two sisters, Beverly and Shirley and his first wife Genevieve. He is survived by his second wife, Angela, his children Mark (Lori), Michael (Naomi), Sarah (Geoff) and Melissa (Sophia), his grandchildren Noah, Seamus, Dashiell, Eli, Maya and Alannah. Due to the COVID pandemic a private service with family celebrating his amazing life and generous spirit will take place at a later date.