Clarence Young, who preferred to go by his middle name Ory, was
supposed to be with his family at dinner Easter Sunday, but he
stopped in to work before celebrating.
Such was Young’s personality, said his sister Carmita
Howze ““ he seldom stopped working and was always looking to
help other people.
She remembered when she wanted a sprinkler system and Young
showed up unexpectedly one weekend with all the materials and
worked with her husband to put one in the yard.
She said another time, when she wanted an addition on her house,
Young designed the entire thing.
Young, a 47-year-old UCLA employee, died Sunday afternoon. He
was found at his desk in an office below Sproul Hall.
His brother, Clyde, said he died of heart failure and that he
had been dealing with heart problems for the past three years.
Young grew up in Los Angeles, the oldest child in a
single-parent family.
This meant he had to take on a leading role in the family, said
Clyde, who works as operations manager for UCLA’s university
apartments.
Their mother also worked at UCLA and would take classes at
night, so Young had to take care of his four younger siblings until
she got home.
“He was like a father, brother, everything to us,”
Howze said, remembering how Young helped tutor her with math and
taught her how to drive.
Young entered UCLA looking to go into medicine, but instead took
a job working for the university in 1979. He spent most of his
working life as an operations supervisor for housing
administration. More recently, Young worked in maintenance as a
construction project manager.
Most of Young’s family still lives in Los Angeles, and the
group was close, Clyde said, meeting on most holidays at either
Young’s or his mother’s house.
Young is survived by his wife, Carmen de Arce, and his
daughters, Vida de Arce and Marisa Young.
He is also survived by brother Carlos Young, stepfather Roger
Jones and mother Catherine Young-Jones.
A wake for Young will be held Friday, April 16 from 5 to 8
p.m. at the St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church. Mass and a funeral
will be at the church on Saturday at 11 a.m. St. Joan of Arc
Catholic Church is located at 11534 Gateway Blvd. in Los
Angeles.