Michael Young, 86

Michael Edward Young, 86, of Bonners Ferry, Idaho, passed away peacefully Oct. 5, 2025.

Born on June 25, 1939, in San Francisco, Calif., to John and Mary Young, Michael devoted his life to music, education, and the beauty of the natural world. After serving three years in the U.S. Army, he earned both his B.A. and M.A. in Music from the University of Washington. From 1976 until 2001, he taught on the faculty of Whitworth University in Spokane, where he inspired generations of students with his quiet wisdom, witty humor and deep love of composition. His works, performed by ensembles and orchestras across the country, often reflected his reverence for nature and the mystery of the human soul.

A passionate mountaineer, Michael climbed more than 400 peaks throughout the United States, Canada and New Zealand. He was a charter member of the Glacier Mountaineering Society, a member of the Alpine Club of Canada, and, for many years, active in the American Guild of Organists.

In the mid-1990s, Michael was received into the Orthodox Church, where he offered his voice and perfect pitch in faithful service as a reader and choir leader. Though he lived alone, his church family became his home, and he was rarely absent from worship or community life.

Michael will be remembered for his gentle spirit, his devotion to beauty and the quiet strength of his faith.

Funeral services will be held at Holy Myrrhbearers Antiochian Orthodox Church in Naples, Idaho: Tuesday, Oct. 7, at 6 p.m. and Wednesday, Oct. 8, at 10 a.m., with burial and a meal to follow.

Memory eternal.

Lakeview Funeral Home in Sandpoint is handling the arrangements. Please visit Michael’s online memorial at lakeviewfuneral.com and sign his guestbook.