Ethel Jeanette (Graef) Young

Ethel Jeanette (Graef) Young, 81, of San Marcos, Texas, passed away Friday, March 22, 2019, from heart surgery complications.  There will be a private burial followed by a memorial service on Sunday, March 31 at 2 p.m. at San Marcos Marriott Courtyard, South Interstate 35 Access Road (Centerpoint Road), where friends are invited to join the family in celebrating her life.  

Jeanette — beloved mother and grandmother, loving wife, steadfast friend, avid reader, and world traveler — was born on Sept. 27, 1937 on the family farm in Creedmoor, Texas, to Martin “Motts” Clements Graef and Bertha May (Allman) Graef, second generation German Texans.  She and her brothers (Donald and Steven) and sister (Martha Jane Scott) helped farm corn, cotton, sorghum, maize and green beans on 200 acres bordered by Graef Road.  Jeanette grew up in the arms of an extended family of uncles and cousins farming the Blackland Prairie around Uhland, Turnerville and Niederwald.  In Junior High Jeanette was President of the Creedmoor 4-H Club, and in High School, she was a member of the founding student class of Travis High School as well as a founding member and officer of the Travis High Rebelettes.  After graduating from high school she married Willard Cooper “Pete” Young on Jan. 28, 1956.  Jeanette worked for 15 years at the San Marcos Public Library and was a long-time member of the Southwest Texas University Ladies Book Club.  Literature and learning were key sources of solace and joy for Jeanette; her favorite books were “The Dinky Ducklings” and “Anna Karenina.”  Later, she joined the UT OLLI life learning community, taking courses ranging from World Literature to Molecular Biology.  In the 80’s and 90’s, Jeanette worked at Ascot Travel and developed “traveling feet,” visiting at least 57 countries, making cherished memories on each journey.  She inspired those close to her to have confidence in any situation, to adapt and not be dependent on other people to solve their problems.  She is preceded in death by her parents, her sister, and her brother Donald.  Those that continue to love her include her husband of 63 years, Willard Cooper “Pete” Young, her sons Keith Allen Young (wife Barbara Schwarz Young) of Morgan’s Point and Bruce Edmund Young (wife Carrie Ann Richter Young) of Wimberley; her brother Stephen of Austin, grandchildren Aynsley Kay Young of Dallas, Carson Claire Moczygemba of Spicewood, Hadley Kay Young of Temple, Cooper Alec Young of College Station, Brentyn Allen Young of San Antonio and great-granddaughter Adelyn Jade Moczygemba of Spicewood.  In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions be made to the Friends of the Library, 625 E. Hopkins, San Marcos 78666 or by credit card to 512-393-8200.