Roger Young, who served 32 years on the St. Landry Parish School Board, and started a career in education in 1949, died on Sunday. He was 97 years old.
His obituary states he died at Acadian Medical Center. An obituary appears on Page 5.
Young began his 72-year career as an educator at Hackberry in 1949.
Young, a native of the Savoy community, came to Eunice as a teacher for another eight years after leaving Hackberry. He was named the first principal at Glendale Elementary and stayed in that position for 26 years.
“I was the luckiest guy in the world,” Young said in an interview in 2018 about being named principal.
The brand new Glendale Elementary didn’t have air conditioning, fans, shades, typewriters or copy machines, he said.
“We had to make do,” he said. Parents helped with fundraisers to obtain what the school district did not provide.
Young served the St. Landry Parish school system as an administrator during desegregation and a Board member when the district was released from federal oversight.
Desegregation troubled almost everyone, he said.
“They couldn’t accept it, but it was the best decision we ever made,” he said about desegregation and decisions made concerning Eunice schools.
The Eunice schools were divided into four schools for grades one to four, Central Middle for grades five to six, junior high for grades seven to eight and the high school for grades nine to 12, he said.
“It worked out well,” he said.
The grade configuration used in Eunice has become a model for the parish school system.
“I think teaching is one of the great professions ... as far as serving people and being what we should have to be as Christians, there is no better profession,” he said.
“I enjoy the Board, The School Board was good. In fact, I enjoyed meeting the others. I enjoyed visiting the schools,” he said.
Young trained for his career at what is now the University of Louisiana Lafayette. He obtained bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the university.
Young also served on the board of directors at Savoy Swords Water System and of the Acadian Baptist Center. Young was an active member of the First Baptist Church of Eunice.
Survivors include his wife of 67 years, Nettie Aucoin Young of Eunice; his two sons, Roger Blake Young and wife, Mindy of Atlanta, Georgia, and their children, Noah and Emma Young, and Ward Young of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
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