Conway Francis Young

92 years plus 1 day…

Where it all began. On November 10, 1924 in Sans Bois, Haskell County Oklahoma, Conway Francis Young was the youngest born to Marion Francis Young & Ada May Caldwell. Conway aka Connie had 4 older sisters Zula, Bula, Edith and Andrea as well as 1 brother, Clifford.

Connie had a mischievous streak, a taste for adventure and a lighthearted sense of humor. The story of tying a washtub to the prized calf and yanking off its tail, to later reattaching the tail with barbwire in hopes his dad wouldn’t notice was only one of the many wonderful stories this man had to tell.

Connie went on to serve in the Army Air Corp during World War II. In 1944, he married Alma Lee Cole of Keota, Ok and they had 3 daughters, Carolyn Sue (Hatch) born 1945 who went home to be with the Lord on September 5, 2008, Judy Kay (Davis) born 1946 and Gloria Jean (Starr) born 1947. Connie moved his family in 1946 to Southern California where jobs were more plentiful. He and Alma laughed, loved and lived their lives to the fullest. They enjoyed spending time with family whether it was in the kitchen, the backyard or in Keota…family came first. In 1947, they moved to Northern California where they continued to raise their family. Throughout Connie’s life he used life’s circumstances to teach lessons to his children that couldn’t be taught in any classroom. One of them was that Grace covers a multitude of sins. When Alma would ask Connie to discipline the girls with a swat, Connie would take the girls to their room and tell them “I’ll hit the bed with the belt and you make sure to yell!” Afterwards, he would love and encourage them to stop their nonsense. In 1965, Connie and Alma moved back to Oklahoma and settled in Tulsa where they lived until Alma’s life was cut short and on November 4, 1972 she went home to heaven.

Later, Connie married Mary Ellen Banks Laughlin. That day Connie gained 2 step-daughters, Linda Laughlin and Susan Laughlin (Hedges). Connie and Mary Ellen enjoyed fishing, traveling, working and spending time with their 12 grandchildren, 27 great grandchildren and 4 great, great grandchildren.

Connie, aka Papa, was a man of integrity, a man of his word, he knew the value of his name and taught this to his children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and great, great grandchildren. Papa lived his life by the Golden Rule and held that same standard for each family member. He had broad shoulders to help carry our burdens, a warm embrace to comfort a broken heart, a firm hand and loving heart to guide us and a smile that encouraged us to keep going. He was a man that loved God and his family. We had the privilege of calling him Papa. On November 11, 2016…92 years and 1 day later Conway Francis Young went home to be with The Lord.

Papa will be carried to his place of rest by men he loved, lead and influenced. His pall bearers will be Don Hatch, Derek Sullivan, Tom Hatch, Jimmy Davis, Andrew Shann and Carson Hatch, they walked with him to the very end. Please join us for the viewing at Dolton Funeral Home as we celebrate Connie aka Papa’s life Wednesday from 9am – 8pm. Family members will be present from 4pm-6pm. The funeral service will be held Thursday, 10am at Freewill Baptist Church. We welcome you to celebrate with us a life well lived!