Col. Edward F. Young, Ph.D. U.S. Air Force (Ret).

COLUMBIA - Colonel Edward F Young (USAF, Ret.) passed away peacefully on May 11, 2022, at the age of 84, at his home in Columbia, South Carolina, surrounded by his loving wife and children. The cause of death was heart failure.

Edward was born in Granville, New York on June 18, 1937. He was the son of the late Vernon E. Young and Marie Ames and was the oldest of 11 children.

Edward is survived by his beloved wife of 60 years, Sheelagh Sheridan. He is also survived by his children, Joseph (Lynn) of Charlotte, NC, Susan (Eric) of Stafford, VA, and Thomas (Kelly) of Phoenix, AZ.

His grandchildren include Sean, Erin, Sophia, Matthew, William, Margaret, Jackson, Kevin, and Nicholas.

He is survived by his siblings, Marie, Paul, Anne, Mark, and Clare. He was preceded in death by brothers Billy, Bobby, Francis, Timothy, and Peter.

A Lockheed scholar, Edward graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering (1959). He earned his Masters Degree from the Air Force Institute of Technology (1966). After retiring from the Air Force, he was awarded a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering by Clemson University (1992).

During his career, Edward was a member of the NASA Space Task Group serving as an aerodynamicist, studying re-entry of the Mercury capsule. He was employed by Lockheed California as an inlet designer for a proposed supersonic transport. In the Air Force, Col. Young was involved in Research and Development. He served as a helicopter flight test engineer at Edwards Air Force Base and was assigned to a small group of engineers that developed an in-house simulator for the NASA X-15 space plane .

Col. Young became an expert in aerostat design and operation. He led a study investigating tethering a balloon at 100,000 feet and developed a balloon system to be launched from a transport aircraft in flight. Later, he was engaged in research involving high energy flowing gas lasers.

As Chief of Aero Propulsion test facilities, he was key in modernizing the laboratories, including a fuels lab, research engine test cells, high energy lasers, aircraft fire prevention and compressor research facility. Col. Young was the first director of the Joint Oil Analysis Technical support center. This tri-service organization was cited by Congress as one of the most successful tri-service ventures and it is a tribute to his technical leadership that this organization exists some 25 years later in his last assignment. Col. Young also lead the advanced technology division in the Air Force technical application center, whose mission was nuclear detection.

After serving 24 years in the Air Force, Col. Young taught at Clemson University and later at the University of South Carolina in the Mechanical Engineering Department. He was beloved by his students. He received numerous awards throughout his career, including the Naval ROTC award, Pi Tau Sigma award, and the Legion of Merit award.

Edward Young was a man of many interests, including his lifetime love of learning, nature, gardening, history, trains, cooking and baking, and music. He was a Bronze Life Master in Bridge. He instilled a love of these interests in his own children and grandchildren. His memory lives on in the music he loved to sing, the baking and cooking he shared with his family, and his contagious laughter and larger-than-life personality.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to Harvest Hope Food Bank, Columbia, SC.

Dunbar Funeral Home, Northeast Chapel, assisted the family.

Memories may be shared at www.dunbarfunerals.com.