Dr. Stephen Young Gives in Honor of Parents, Training

Stephen P. Young, DO and his wife, Gail, in Big Sky

Stephen P. Young, DO (CARD’80), and his wife, Gail, enjoy their life in Big Sky, Montana, including a majestic mountain view from their living room. Since retiring in 2012 from his cardiology practice in Dayton, Ohio, Dr. Young has had time for hiking, skiing and exploring mountain paths, as well as reflecting on his own life path and those who guided him along the way.

Gratitude led him to make gifts supporting cardiology at Cleveland Clinic and the Alumni Association’s Centennial Legacy Society project. In doing so, he says, he is honoring both his medical training and his love for his parents, Dr. Ralph and Kathryn Young. His father died in 2003 at the age of 89, and his mother in 2006 at the age of 91.

Dr. Young describes his cardiology training at Cleveland Clinic as “some of the greatest years of my life.” He was recommended to the cardiology fellowship program by Cleveland Clinic alumnus Lee Adler, DO (IM’75), who made a personal call to Lon Castle, MD (CARD’73), then director of the pacemaker division. Dr. Young lauds Dr. Castle as one of his role models of that time, as well as Dr. William Proudfit, Dr. Earl Shirey, Dr. Mehdi Razavi, Dr. Ernesto Salcedo and Dr. Daniel Phillips. “Of all the people there, the most unique was Dr. Mason Sones,” he says. “He was one of those people in a league of their own who change things for the benefit of the world.”

Dr. Young’s father, also a DO with a passion for cardiology, was a general practitioner in the small town of Lebanon, Ohio, for 54 years. “He delivered over 2,500 babies and did the same number of tonsillectomies, was the Warren County coroner for 33 years, and was involved in the community, including as team doctor for football for over 20 years, attending every home game,” Dr. Young says. “He received a lot of local awards, and in 2003, the Ohio State Medical Board identified a small number of physicians over 85 years old who had contributed a lot to healthcare. He was listed in that group.”

Dr. Young and his two sisters grew up with parents who had “strong personalities and a dedication to each other and their family,” he says. His father instilled in him an early love of medicine, taking him along on his medical rounds. His mother, a homemaker, was always there for her husband and children.

“I first heard about Cleveland Clinic from my father, when I was a teenager,” he says. “He told me that if someone had a difficult health problem or wanted outstanding care, they should go there. We also visited a family friend, Edgar Wollam (IM’74, H/N’76), who was training in nephrology in the early 1970s, so I saw a little of Cleveland Clinic then. It was ingrained in me that this was an outstanding place for healthcare. My father also relied on Cleveland Clinic for his own care. He had knee, ankle and heart surgery there. My mother had peripheral vascular angioplasty there in Cleveland, and pacemaker surgery at Cleveland Clinic Florida.”

With an estate gift, Dr. Young has created the Dr. Ralph Young and Mrs. Kathryn Young Memorial Fund at Cleveland Clinic, supporting cardiac research at the Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute (HVTI). Prior to that, he gave to the Alumni Association’s Centennial Legacy Project. He also makes annual contributions from an IRA.

“Cleveland Clinic is a venerable institution, and my parents were venerable people,” Dr. Young says. “Giving to Cleveland Clinic makes me feel like I am giving to my parents, like they are still alive in the spirit that I see there. When I come to Cleveland Clinic, I’ll look up at that building full of healthcare workers, and I’ll ask, ‘Well, father, how was your work today?’”

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