Lois Ava Briggs Young

WEAVERVILLE—Lois Ava Briggs Young, age 89, died Saturday, September 11, 2010. Mrs. Young was born January 29, 1921, in Madison County. She graduated from Beech Glen School in 1938 and attended Asheville Normal and Teachers College from 1938 to 1939. Mrs. Young thrived in the retailing trade, working as a clerk in Mars Hill Pharmacy; as business partner with her husband in gift shop businesses in West Virginia and Pennsylvania from 1946 to 1958; as a sales clerk for Bon Marche, Asheville; a cashier for Shope's Grocery, Weaverville; sales clerk and layaway manager for JC Penney, Asheville, setting up their first credit card system; sales clerk for Top's for Shoes, Asheville; owner and operator of Young's Dry Cleaners in Weaverville during the mid 1960s; operator of Pin Money Shop for Tops for Shoes; and she worked for Rose's in Weaverville during her retirement. Mrs. Young joined First Baptist Church in Weaverville on April 13, 1958, and remained a member until her death. She was athletic and played basketball and baseball skillfully and enthusiastically. One lifelong hobby of hers was arts and crafts. She was particularly good at painting flowers. She liked to play the piano boogie-woogie style. Another avid interest of hers in the 1970s was ballroom dancing; she danced competitively and won many trophies throughout the Southeast. She was preceded in death by her father, Fred J. Briggs; mother, Ida Briggs; her husband of 34 years, William Kenneth Young; brother, Roy E. Briggs; and son, William Jerry Young. Surviving are her son, Clarence Ervin Young; grandson, Jonathan Ervin Young; daughter-in-law, Ruth E. Young of Fletcher; and brother, William Donald Briggs of Indian Trail. Her graveside service will be held at 3:00 p.m., Tuesday, September 14, 2010, in Ashelawn Gardens of Memory, with Rev. Jim McCoy officiating. A memorial service celebrating her life will be presented at 4:30 p.m., Sunday, September 26, in the Chapel of West Funeral Home, 17 Merrimon Ave., Weaverville. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to a local hospice in her memory. www.WestFamilyFuneralServices.com