John Shelton Young
John Shelton Young, 79, of Cape Coral died Friday, March 12, 2010. He died peacefully at home, with his loving daughters at his side, due to complications of pneumonia.
He was born Aug. 7, 1930, in Washington, D.C., to builder George Wesley Young and Emma Lou Eva (Shelton) Young of Washington, D.C. He married Josephine Mietus-Young in 1958. They resided in Washington, D.C.; Bethesda, Md.; Ankara, Turkey; and Cape Coral.
He graduated from Massanutten Academy, Va., in 1949, where he participated in the Glee Club and Color Guard. He went on to obtain a B.S. degree in electrical engineering from Capital College in Washington, D.C.
He served with honor in the U.S. Army, HQ 2D BN 3D DIV, during the Korean War from 1952-1954. During his time in service, he was awarded the Combat Infantry Badge, United Nations Service Medal, The Korean Service Medal, two Bronze stars, a National Defense Service Medal and a Good Conduct Medal.
After serving in the Army, he went on to serve as a police officer on the Washington, D.C., Police Department. On his daughter’s birthday, he began a career with the National Security Agency in Ft. Meade, Md., until his retirement in 1987. While working for the NSA, he received the Secret Service Award for superior performance for design of President Reagan’s secure portable communications system in the White House. He created many other important communication advances in service to his country still in use today.
As a conservative, he was a member of the NRA, Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Phoenix Society. Recently, he obtained his Amateur Radio Licence, again.
He is survived by his daughters, Susan L. Young and Natasha Young Haynes, two granddaughters and niece, Barbara Young Yadvitch.
His burial will be held at Sarasota National Cemetery, March 30.
Memorials may be made to the Alzheimer’s Foundation.