Daily Sitka Sentinel

Former Sitkan Ruby Young Dies at Age 72

Ruby Eileen Young

Ruby Eileen Young passed away peacefully in Longview, Washington on March 19, 2019. She was 72. She was with family as she departed.
As a child, Ruby was enamored with Alaska and in 1978 she loaded a dog, a cat, and two young children into a station wagon and moved to Sitka, then settled in Juneau. Having found her paradise, she stayed for nearly 40 years.
Ruby graduated with honors from the University of Alaska Southeast in 1992 and was a marine biology technician for the State of Alaska for nearly  two decades. She retired in 2015.
Ruby loved cats, doing home improvement projects at her house on Birch Lane in Juneau and – above all – her Alaska.
She is survived by her biological children, Thomas Jacobs of Rainier, Oregon, and Heather Jacobs of Doha, Qatar, both of whom inherited her love of learning and excelled in their university studies, a fact that brought her tremendous pride and admiration.
She is also survived by her grandson Roy Champagne of Rosemount, Minnesota; cousin Joe Campbell of Port St. Lucie, Florida; nieces and nephews; and her two cats, Cinquo and Keeko.
The family requests donations be made to the Gastineau Humane Society in lieu of flowers. A small memorial and scattering of the ashes will be announced at a date later this year.