NEW YORK CITY – Timothy Edward “Tim” Young of Staten Island, NY, passed away Jan. 10, 2024. His loving partner in life, Judith “Judy” Punch, was unwavering in her care and advocacy for him from the onset of his sudden illness until the end.

Tim was born in Skowhegan, Maine, on April 12, 1955 to Donald C. and Zilla Hall Young. He graduated from Skowhegan Area High School in 1973, attended the University of Maine, where he participated in Maine Masque theater, and finished his undergraduate degree at New York University after moving to Brooklyn in 1976.

Tim soon settled in the West Village. His place on West 11th was a testament to the fact that Tim never met an object nor a word he couldn’t make use of; the building’s former hallway ran nearly the length of his fourth-floor, railroad-style apartment and became his “barn” – full of useful and unusual items, all painstakingly organized. Tim accumulated several decades worth of correspondence with dear friends and playbills from every show he ever attended (all meticulously filed), and more stories than we could ever recount. We are lucky to know a few of them. Whether delivered as spoken word, carefully crafted letter, handmade card for a special occasion, or FINALLY, by email, the events he depicted were colored with the unique wit only Tim could deliver. His observations about the people he encountered, the experiences he had, the events he witnessed, were made universally relatable even if personally tragic; that was one of his many gifts. Tim enjoyed writing poetry and performed his work at the Bank Street Theater and as part of the Poetry Project in the East Village.

As a teacher, Tim touched the lives of countless students, including many ESL immigrants and GED hopefuls, through the DC37 Education Fund and eventually as an adjunct professor with the CUNY and SUNY-funded Manhattan Educational Opportunity Center. He may have looked the part of the serious, bespectacled instructor, but he delighted in both imparting grammar rules and telling his students to break most other etiquette rules, including using colorful language and ignoring him. He’s known to have said to many of them that they didn’t “have to listen to some skinny white f-f-f (you know, ‘fellow’).” We hope that for many he truly led them toward a brighter future via empathy and English.

Tim eventually left the West Village for Staten Island; there, he enjoyed having a backyard where he could tend his garden of transplanted Maine perennials and blueberry bushes, and arrange his assortment of Maine river rocks and granite that travelled back with him after summer visits to Pleasant Pond in Caratunk, Maine. Tim left an indelible mark on his family – his brothers and cousins and their families, and time together in Maine will be especially missed.

Tim was predeceased by his parents. In addition to Judy, he is survived by his brothers, Donald Jr. (Bonnie) of Skowhegan, Christopher (Becky) of Caratunk; numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.

In honor of Tim’s wishes, there will be no funeral. Those wishing to share condolences may do so by visiting the website for Hanley Funeral Home (hanleyfuneralhome.com).

Those wishing to make donations in Tim’s memory are encouraged to support any of the following:

Skowhegan Public Library

9 Elm Street

Skowhegan, ME 04976 or:

The Public Theater

425 Lafayette Street

New York, NY 10003

http://publictheater.org or:

The Poetry Project

St. Mark’s Church

131 E 10th Street

New York, NY 10003

http://poetryproject.org

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